THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

LIBRARY 


THE  Vi'ILMER  COLLECTION 

OF  CIML  \X'AR  NOVELS 

PRESENTED  BY 

RICHARD  H.  WILMER,  JR. 


*lU«iaC0LUJC110N 


vr 


-iiM: 


^  /t7f 


The  Draft.  —  Page  32. 


MMMirS  SOlLlDIIEiaS 


KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 


BY 


AMANDA    M.    DOUGLAS, 

AornoR  OF  "  kathie's  three  wishes,"  "  katoie's  aunt  kuth,"  "kathie's 

SUMMER  AT  CEDABWOOD,"    "  IS  THE  RANKS,"    "  KATHIE'S  HABVESX 
DAYS,"  "in  TEUSX,"  BXC. 


BOSTON: 
LEE   AND  SHEPARD,  PUBLISHERS. 

1877. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870, 

BY   LEE   AND   SHEPARD, 

i&  the  OflBce  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


University  Press  :  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co., 
Cambridge. 


TO 


JENNIE   M.    SUYDAM. 


"Nor  to  thyself  the  task  shall  be 
"Without  reward ;  for  thou  shalt  learn 
The  wisdom  early  to  discern 
True  beauty  in  utility." 


WOODSIDE,  1870. 


602860 


lUlIji^  Slorus^ 


1.  KATHIE'S  THREE  WISHES. 

2.  KATHIE'S  AUNT  RUTH. 

3.  KATHIE'S  SUMMER  AT  CEDARWOOD. 

4.  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 
6.    IN  THE  RANKS. 

6.    KATHIE'S  HARVEST  DAYS. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I. 

Pagi 

EsTilSTINO    IN    THE    GrAND  ArMY 9 


CHAPTER    II. 
Drafted 27 

CHAPTER    III. 
True  to  one's  Colors 42 

CHAPTER    lY. 

Little  Steps  by  the  Way 60 

CHAPTER    V. 

One  of  the  Small  Deeds        ....        o        .      80 

CHAPTER    VI. 
Giving  and  Receiving     ........      98 

CHAPTER    VII. 
A  Visit 116 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
Comfort  in  Need 135 

CHAPTER    IX. 
Thorns  in  the  Path 151 

CHAPTER    X. 
Under  Fire .        .     172 

CHAPTER    XI. 
In  Another's  Stead 192 

CHAPTER    XII. 
Home  again 208 

CHAPTER    XIII. 
Good  News 223 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
Pof  TO  THE  Test 241 


KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS 


CHAPTEK    I. 

ENLISTING   IN  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

"  Hurrah  ! "  exclaimed  Eobert  Alston,  swinging 
his  hat  in  the  air,  as  he  came  np  the  path ;  "  hur- 
rah I  there  's  going  to  be  a  draft  at  Brookside ! 
Won't  it  be  jolly  ? " 

The  group  assembled  glanced  up  at  him,  —  a  fair, 
fresh,  rosy  boy,  without  any  cowardly  blood  in  his 
veins,  as  you  could  easily  tell,  but  given,  as  such 
natures  often  are,  to  underrating  the  silent  bravery 
of  others. 

"What  will  there  be  so  jolly  about  it,  Rob?" 
asked  his  uncle,  with  a  peculiar  light  in  his  eye. 

"  Wliy,  —  the  whole  tiling,"  —  and  Rob  made  a 
little  pause  to  think,  though  it  did  not  seem  half 
so  funny  now  as  out  on  the  street  with  a  crowd  of 
boys,  who  had  been  singing  at  the  top  of  their  lungs, 
"  John  Brown's  Body,"  and  "  My  Johnny  has  gone 


10      -  kathie's  soldiers. 

for  a  Soldier,"  —  "  the  surprise,  Uncle  Eobert,  when 
some  of  the  fellows  who  have  been  skulking  back 
and  afraid  to  go  find  themselves  compelled." 

"  So  you  think  it  rather  funny  to  be  forced  to  do 
what  you  would  not  choose  of  your  free-will  ? "  and 
Uncle  Eobert  gave  a  queer  little  smile. 

"  But  — "  and  Eob  looked  around  considerably 
perplexed  at  not  finding  his  argument  at  hand,  and 
overwhelming.  "0,  you  know  what  I  mean  ! "  throw- 
ing himself  down  upon  the  grass.  "  If  men  have  n't 
patriotism  enough  to  volunteer  when  their  country 
needs  them,  why,  I  think  they  ought  —  I  just  wish 
I  was  old  enough  !  I  'd  go  in  a  moment.  I  'd  like 
the  fun  of  '  marching  on  ' !  " 

"There  is  something  beside  marching,"  said  Ka- 
thie,  in  her  soft  voice,  thinking  in  a  vague  way  of 
General  Mackenzie. 

"  WeU,  I  'd  like  aU  of  it ! " 

"  The  being  drafted  as  well  ?  " 

It  was  Uncle  Eobert  who  spoke. 

"  No,  I  'd  never  be  drafted  !  "  and  Eob's  fair  face 
flushed  with  a  boy's  impulsive  indignation  ;  "  I  'd  go 
at  once,  —  at  the  first  call." 

"  Bat  if  you  were  a  man  and  had  a  wife,  as  weU  as 


-^ 


ENLISTING   IN   THE   GRAND   ARMY.  11 

bairnies,  three  or  four,  or  half  a  dozen,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  leave  them  to  poverty  ?  " 

"  Tliere  is  the  bounty,  and  the  pay." 

"  Neither  of  which  would  be  as  much  as  a  man 
could  earn  in  a  year  at  home.     And  if  he  never  came 

back  —  " 

"  But,  Uncle  Eobert,  don't  you  think  it  right  for  a 
man  to  be  patriotic  ? "  asked  his  nephew,  in  a  little 
amaze. 

"Yes.  One  can  never  approve  of  cowardice  in 
any  act  of  .life.  Still,  I  fancy  there  may  be  a  great 
many  brave  and  good  men  who  have  not  volimteercd, 
and  who,  if  they  are  drafted,  will  do  their  country 
loyal  service.  It  may  not  look  quite  so  heroic,  but 
God,  who  can  see  all  sides  of  the  question,  will  judge 
differently." 

"The  soldiers  don't  feel  so,  Uncle  Eobert.  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  men  who  volunteer  do  deserve 
a  good  deal  of  credit." 

"  A  great  many  of  them  do  ;  but  stiU  numbers  go 
for  the  novelty,  or,  as  you  say,  the  fun.  They  like  a 
rambling,  restless  life,  and  care  little  for  danger,  little 
for  death;  but  is  it  an  intelligent  courage,  — tlio 
hi<diest  and  noblest  kind  ?     Does  not  the  man  who 


12  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

says,  *  If  my  country  in  her  sorest  strait  needs  me,  I 
will  go  and  do  my  duty  to  the  utmost,'  deserve  some 
credit,  especially  if  lie  gives  up  what  most  men  hold 
most  dear  ? " 

"  I  believe  I  did  n't  look  at  it  in  that  light  al- 
together. It  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  only  tlie 
cowards  and  the  selfish  men  who  waited  to  be 
drafted." 

"  Then  you  think  I  ought  to  volunteer  ? "  said 
Uncle  Eobert,  with  a  dry  but  good-natured  smile. 

There  was  a  very  general  exclamation. 

"  You  ! "  exclaimed  Eob,  aghast  at  the  unlooked-for 
application. 

"  I  have  neither  wife  nor  children.  I  am  young, 
strong,  in  good  health,  and  though  I  do  not  fancy  a 
military  life  above  all  others,  I  still  think  I  could 
endure  the  hardships  like  a  good  soldier,  and  if  I 
stood  in  the  front  ranks  to  face  the  enemy  I  do 
not  believe  that  I  should  run  away." 

He  rose  as  he  said  this,  and,  folding  his  arms 
across  his  chest,  leaned  against  the  vine-covered 
column  of  the  porch,  looking  every  inch  a  soldier 
without  the  uniform. 

It  would  break  his  mother's  heart  to  have  Uncle 


ENLISTING   IN   THE   GRAND   ARMY.  13 

Eobert  go,  and  there  was  Aunt  Euth,  and  Kathie, 
and  Freddy ;  but  —  what  a  handsome  soldier  he 
woidd  make  !  Major  Alston,  or  Colonel  Alston,  — 
how  grand  it  would  sound !  So  you  see  Eob  was 
quite  taken  with  military  glory. 

Kathie  came  and  slipped  her  hand  within  Uncle 
riobert's.  "  We  could  not  spare  you,"  she  whispered, 
softly. 

"  But  if  I  were  drafted  ? " 

"  AVell,"  exclaimed  Eob,  stubbornly  clinging  to  his 
point,  "  the  boys  over  in  the  village  think  it  will 
make  some  fun.  There  's  a  queer  little  recruiting 
shanty  on  the  green,  and  a  fifer  and  a  drummer. 
If  our  quota  is  n't  filled  by  next  Wednesday,  —  and 
they  all  say  it  won't  be,  —  the  draft  is  to  commence. 
I  'm  glad  I  'm  not  going  away  until  the  first  of 
October.     I  only  wish  —  " 

"  I  wish  you  were,  if  that  will  do  you  any  good,'* 
answered  Mr.  Meredith,  glancing  up  from  his  book 
which  he  had  been  pretending  to  read. 

"  I  'd  rather  enlist  than  go  to  school." 

"  Maybe  enlisting  in  the  home-guard  will  prove 
a  wise  step  for  the  first  one." 

"  Home-guard  ? "  and  Rob  looked  a  bit  perplexed. 


14  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"Yes.  We  all  do  considerable  soldiering  in  our 
lives  unconsciously ;  and  if  it  conies  hard  to  obey 
our  captains  here,  I  am  not  sure  that  we  should 
always  find  it  so  easy  out  on  the  field.  There  are 
some  things  that  take  more  coui-age  than  to  march 
down  to  the  valley  of  death  as  did  the  '  Six  Hun- 
dred.' " 

"  O/'  said  Eob,  fired  again  with  a  boy's  enthusiasm, 
"that 's  just  the  grandest  thing  that  ever  was  writ- 
ten !  I  don't  Kke  poetry  as  a  general  thing,  it  always 
sounds  so  girlish  to  me ;  but  Marco  Bozzaris  and 
that  are  so  fine,  especially  the  lines,  — 

*  Theirs  not  to  reason  why, 
Theirs  but  to  do  and  die.' 

"After  aU,  dying  is  not  the  grandest  thing,"  said 
Aunt  Euth,  quietly  ;  "  and  the  detached  instances  of 
heroism  in  one's  life  have  not  always  required  the 
most  courage." 

"  No,  indeed,"  answered  Mr.  Meredith,  wajmly. 
"  I  know  men  who  have  acquitted  themselves 
bravely  under  fire,  who  at  home  possessed  so  small 
an  amount  of  moral  coumge  that  they  really  could 
not  resist  temptations  which  were  to  their  mental 
and  physical  detriment." 


ENLISTING  IN  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  15 

"But  it  is  the  fighting   that  interests  me,"  said 

Eobert. 

"  One  may  be  a  brave  soldier  with  purely  physical 
courage,  but  to  be  a  good  soldier  one  needs  moral 
courage  as  well." 

Just  then  Ada  Meredith  came  down  on  the  porch. 
She  was  Kathie's  little  New  York  friend,  and  lier 
uncle  had  brought  her  to  Cedarwood  for  a  few  days. 
She  was  growing  tall  rapidly,  and  considered  herself 
quite  a  young  lady,  especially  as  she  had  been  to 
Saratoga  with  her  mother. 

So  this  made  a  little  break  in  the  conversation. 
Bob  somehow  did  n't  get  on  very  well  w4th  her ;  but 
then  he  admitted  that  he  did  n't  like  girls  anyhow, 
except  !Miss  Jessie.  He  was  rather  glad,  therefore, 
to  see  Dick  Grayson  coming  up  the  path,  taking  it 
for  an  excuse  to  get  away. 

Ada  looked  after  them  with  secret  mortification. 
Dick  w^as  quite  a  young  man  in  her  estimation,  and 
only  that  morning  he  had  been  very  gallant.  Slie 
liated  to  have  Eob  take  him  off  to  the  lake  or  any  other 
haunt,  so  she  bethought  herself  of  a  little  stratagem. 

"  You  promised  me  a  game  of  croquet,"  she  said  to 
Kathie,  with  great  earnestness. 


f 

16  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Katliie  glanced  up  in  surprise.  When  she  had 
proposed  it  that  morning  Ada  declared  it  stupid, 
and  said  she  had  grown  tired  of  it.  Uncle  Robert, 
knowing  nothing  of  this,  answered  for  her.  "  Of 
course,"  he  said ;  "  there  are  the  boys.  Eob,  don't 
go  away,  you  are  wanted." 

Eob  made  an  impatient  gesture  with  his  hand, 
as  if  he  would  wave  them  all  out  of  sight.  Uncle 
Eobei-t  walked  down  to  the  boys.  "  Ada  would  like 
to  play  croquet,"  he  remarked,  pleasantly. 

"  I  'm  just  in  the  humor  for  a  game  myself," 
answered  Dick;  but  Eob's  brow  knit  itself  into  a 
little  fro\vn. 

''  Come,  girls  1 " 

Mr.  Meredith  accompanied  them.  "We  will  be 
umpires,"  he  declared. 

Ada  chose  Dick  for  a  partner.  Eob  thought  it 
was  n't  much  fun  playing  with  Kathie.  He  was 
rather  careless,  and  in  the  first  game  they  were 
badly  beaten,  which  made  Eob  altogether  out  of 
humor.  Wliy  could  n't  the  girls  have  stayed  on 
the  balcony  and  talked  ? 

"  I  can't  play ! "  he  said,  throwing  down  his  mal- 
let. 


ENUSTIN'G   IN   THE   GRAND   ARMY.  17 

Uncle  Edward  picked  it  up.  "  Now,  Kathie,  let 
us  beat  them  all  to  ribbons  and  fragments !"  he  ex- 
claimed, gayly,  taking  her  brother's  place. 

Eob  fell  out  of  the  ranks  to  where  his  uncle  stood 
iu  the  shade  of  a  great  tulip-tree. 

"  Soldiers  !"  he  said,  in  a  low,  haK-laughing  tone. 

Eob  colored.     "I  did  n't  want  to  play  a  bit  1     I 

wish  girls  —  " 

"But  a  brave  soldier  goes  off  of  the  field  after  a 
defeat  in  good  order.  If  he  has  done  his  best,  that 
is  all  that  is  required  of  him." 

Rob  knew  that  he  had  not  done  his  best  at  all, 
although  he  was  angry  with  the  mortification  of 
lusmg  the  game. 

«* Theirs  not  to  reason  why, 
Theirs  but  to  do  and  die," 

said  Uncle  Robert,  using  liis  quotation  agamst  him. 

"But  that  does  n't  mean  paltry  little  matters  like 
this  ! "  —  with  aU  a  boy's  disdain  in  his  voice. 

"  It  means  everything  when  one  is  right.  As  Mr. 
:\reredith  said  a  few  moments  ago,  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  soldiering  in  life  which  must  be  all  volun- 
tary. That  ought  to  suit  your  ideas.  And  T  tliink 
the  gi-eat  Captain  is  often  very  patient  with  us,  Rob. 


18  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

He  bought  us  all  with  a  price,  you  know,  whether  we 
serve  him  or  not." 

"But  it  is  so  hard  for  me  to  be" — Eob  made  a 
great  effort  and  said,  frankly  —  "  good-tempered." 

"  I  do  not  think  that  is  it  altogether." 

"  What  then  ? "  and  Eob  looked  up  in  a  little  as- 
tonishment. 

"  We  will  put  it  on  a  military  basis,  —  shirking 
one's  duty  because  it  is  not  pleasant." 

"  There  was  no  particular  duty  about  playing 
croquet ! "  —  in  the  same  surprised  tone. 

"  Why  did  you  do  it  at  all  then  ?  " 

"  Because  —  " 

"  Courtesy  to  a  guest  becomes  a  duty  in  a  host." 

"But  there  was  Kathie.  Dick  and  I  were  going 
down  to  take  a  row." 

"  I  have  a  fancy  Dick  likes  the  croqueting  as  well 
as  he  woiild  have  liked  the  rowing" 

Dick  Grayson's  pleasant  laugh  floated  over  to  them 
as  he  said,  "  Not  so  bad  a  J^eat,  after  all,  Mr.  Mere- 
dith." 

"  The  life  soldiering  is  not  quite  so  arbitrary.  A 
good  deal  of  it  is  left  to  conscience.  But  if  a  sentinel 
at  some  outpost  followed  his  own  devices  and  let  a 
spy  pass  the  line  —  " 


ENLISTING  IN  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  19 

"  He  would  be  sliot,  of  course." 
"It  seems  liard,  does  n't  it,  just  for  one  little 
thing  ?  Yet  if  one  or  two  men  escaped  punishment 
the  Ivmy  would  soon  be  in  a  state  of  insubordination. 
Then  when  a  captain  came  to  lead  them  in  battle 
each  man  might  consider  his  way  and  opinion  best. 
Would  it  answer?" 

«  No,  it  would  n't,"  replied  the  boy.     "  But,  Uncle 
Robert,  if  God  had  made  us  —  stronger." 
"  He  offers  us  liis  strength  daily." 
«  But  it  is  so  —    I  mean  you  never  can  think  of  it 
at  the  right  moment." 

"  That  is  the  secret  of  our  duty  to  him,  —  to  think 
of  his  wishes  at  the  right  tune.     He  means,  in  this 
liie,  that  we  shall  not  seek  to  please  ourselves  al- 
together ;  but  there  is  no  guard-house,  no  bread-and- 
water  rations,  only  a  stiU,  small  voice  to  remind  us." 
Eob  was  silent  for  some  moments,  watching  the 
players,  and  wondering  why  ever^^hing  fretted  him 
so  easily.     Were  all  the  rest  of  the  world  to  have 
their  own  way  and  pleasures,  and  he  never  ?     "  XTn- 
cle  Eobert,"  he  began,  presently,  ''  don't  you  tliink  it 
fair  that  I  should  foUow  out  my  own  wishes  some-^ 
times  I    Is  it  not  unjust  to  ask  me  to  give  up  always  ?  ' 


20  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  Are  you  asked  to  give  up  always  ? "  —  and  the 
elder  smiled. 

"  Well  —  "     Eob  grew  rather  red  and  confused. 

"Wliich  would  give  you  the  most  satisfaction, — 
to  know  that  you  had  made  two  or  three  people 
happy,  or  to  enjoy  some  pleasure  alone  by  yourself  ? 
This  is  the  chief  thing  the  Captain  asks  of  us  vol- 
untary soldiers ;  and  did  not  a  wise  man  say  tliat 
'  he  wdio  ruleth  his  own  spirit  is  greater  than  he  who 
taketh  a  city '  ? " 

"  There  is  more  in  volunteering  than  I  thought," 
Eob  said,  gravely,  after  a  long  jDause  ;  "  I  am  afraid, 
after  all,  that  I  am  one  of  the  kind  waiting  for  a 
draft." 

"  And,  if  you  wait  for  that,  you  may  be  left  out  al- 
together. Eob,  it  is  not  very  easy  work  to  march  and 
countermarch,  to  dig  trenches,  throw  up  earthworks, 
keep  your  eyes  open  and  your  senses  keen  through 
dreary  night-watches  and  the  many  other  duties  tliat 
fill  up  a  soldier's  life.  It'  is  harder  for  some  men  to 
keep  faithful  to  these  than  to  go  into  battle  and  die 
covered  with  glory.  But  on  the  other  side  there  will 
be  a  few  cjuestions  asked.  "What  was  the  man's  life  ? 
I  often  think  of  what  the  Saviour  said,  —  not  be  faith- 


ENLISTING   IN   THE   GRAND   ARMY.  21 

fill  in  death,  but  be  '  faithful  inito  death.'  There,  we 
have  had  quite  a  sermon.  Next  month  you  will  be 
a  new  recruit,  you  know." 

"  Two  games  !  "  exclaimed  Dick,  as  they  advanced. 
"Each  party  has  won  one." 

"  And  I  am  tired,"  said  Ada,  languidly. 

"  Just  one  more,"  pleaded  Dick ;  "  I  know  that 
I  shall  have  better  luck." 

"  I  can't,"  Ada  replied. 

Eob's  first  impulse  was  to  say,  "  I  '11  take  her 
place  "  ;  but  he  felt  that  would  leave  Ada  to  lier  own 
resources  again.  He  did  not  care  anytliing  about 
Ada's  noticing  him,  —  indeed,  she  rather  ignored  him 
when  Dick  was  around  ;  but  he  had  a  fancy  that 
Dick  was  his  friend,  and  did  not  belong  so  exclu- 
sively to  the  girls. 

"  Eob,  I  '11  try  you,"  Mr.  Meredith  exclaimed, 
remarking  the  wistful  face. 

So  Ada  and  Dick  had  a  ramble  about  the  grounds, 
as  Kathie,  feeling  she  was  not  very  earnestly  desired, 
lingered  to  watch  the  i)layers.  It  was  a  pretty  sharp 
game,  but  Kobert  beat. 

"Though  I  do  not  tliink  you  played  your  best 
at  the  last,"  the  boy  said. 


22  '  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Uncle  Edward  gave  a  queer  little  smile  that  set 
Eob  to  musing.  What  if  people  sometimes  acted  a 
little  differently,  for  the  sake  of  sparing  his  unlucky 
temper ! 

"I  shall  have  to  fight  giants,"  he  confessed  to 
himself,  imderstanding,  as  he  never  had  before,  how 
serious  a  warfare  life  really  is. 

Dick  could  not  be  persuaded  to  remain  to  supper, 
though  Ada  made  herseK  very  charming.  But  they 
passed  a  pleasant  evening  without  him.  Indeed,  it 
seemed  to  Eob  that  there  was  some  new  element  in 
their  enjoyment.  Was  it  because  Ada  was  more 
gi'acious  than  usual  ? 

Uncle  Eobert  could  have  told  the  secret  easily. 
*  "  Don't  you  get  dreadfully  dull  sometimes  ? "  Ada 
asked  as  they  were  alone  in  their  room,  for  Ada  had 
chosen  to  share  Kathie's. 

"  Dull ! "  and  Kathie  gave  her  pleasant  little  laugh. 

"  Wlien  there  is  no  company  ?  For  it  is  not  quite 
like  the  city,  where  one  can  have  calls  and  evening 
amusements." 

"  I  hardly  ever  tliink  of  it.  You  know  I  was  not 
here  last  winter,  and  the  summer  has  been  so  very 
delightful !  "  Kathie's  cheeks  glowed  at  the  remem- 
brance. 


ENLISTING    IN   THE   GRAND   ARMY.  23 

"  But  your  brother  will  be  away  this  coming 
winter." 

"  Yes."  It  would  make  some  difference,  to  be  sure, 
but  Kathie  fancied  that  she  should  not  be  entirely 
miserable. 

"  If  I  were  you,  I  should  want  to  go  to  boarding- 
school.  A\niere  there  is  a  crowd  of  girls  they  always 
manage  to  have  a  nice  time." 

"  But  I  have  nice  times  at  home.  I  do  not  want 
to  go  away." 

"  ^Miat  a  queer  girl  you  are,  Kathie  ! " 

It  was  not  the  first  time  she  had  been  called  queer. 
But  she  said,  rather  gayly,  "  In  what  respect  ? " 

"  I  should  n't  like  to  do  as  you  have  to.  Why, 
there  are  five  servants  in  our  house,  and  only  one 
in  tliis  great  place !  And  we  have  only  four  children, 
while  your  mother  has  three.  It  is  hardly  fair  for 
you  to  be  compelled  to  do  so  much  work  when  there 
is  no  necessity." 

"  Mamma  thinks  it  best,"  Kathie  answered. 

"If  you  expected  to  be  very  poor  —  or  would 
have  to  do  housework  —  " 

"  I  might,"  returned  Kathie,  pleasantly.  "  People 
are  sick  sometimes,  and  servants  go  away." 


24  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  Is  n't  your  uncle  willing  that  you  sliould  have  a 
chambermaid  ? " 

"  I  suppose  he  would  be  if  mamma  desired  it." 

"So  you  have  to  keep  your  own  room  in  order, 
and  dust  the  parlor,  and  do  all  manner  of  little  odds 
and  ends.  I  believe  I  saw  you  wiping  some  dishes 
in  the  kitchen  this  morning." 

"  And  it  did  not  injure  me,"  returned  Kathie, 
laughingly. 

"  But  all  this  work  makes  your  hands  hard  and 
red.  Mine  are  as  soft  as  satin.  I  believe  no  money 
would  tempt  me  to  sweep  a  room  ! " 

Ada  uttered  this  in  a  very  lofty  fashion. 

"Mamma  thinks  it  best  for  me  to  learn  to  do 
everything.  She  was  brought  up  in  a  good  deal  of 
luxury,  but  met  ^^^th  reverses  afterward." 

Kathie  smiled  inwardly  at  the  picture  she  remem- 
bered of  the  little  room  where  her  mother  used  to  sit 
and  sew,  and  how  she  did  errands,  swept,  washed 
dishes,  and  sometimes  even  scrubbed  floors.  Her 
hands  were  not  large  or  coarse,  for  all  the  work  they 
had  done. 

"  I  think  it  would  be  hard  enough  if  one  was  com- 
pelled to  do  it.     I  am  thankful  that  I  have  no  taste 


ENLISTING   IN   THE   GRAND   ARMV.  2j 

for  such  menial  employments.  I  do  not  believe  tliat 
I  could  even  toast  a  piece  of  bread  "  ;  and  Ada  leaned 
back  in  the  low  rocker,  the  very  picture  of  compla- 
cency. 

Kathie  was  silent,  revolving  several  matters  in  her 
mind  "all  in  a  jumble,"  as  she  would  have  said. 
She  knew  it  would  be  useless  to  undertake  to  explain 
to  Ada  tlie  great  difference  between  their  lives. 
Mamma,  Aunt  Euth,  and  Uncle  Robert  believed  in 
the  great  responsibility  of  existence.  Weeks,  months, 
and  yeai-s  were  not  given  to  be  squandered  away  in 
frivolous  amusement.  To  do  for  each  other  was  one 
of  the  first  conditions,  not  merely  the  small  family 
circle,  but  all  the  wide  world  outside  who  needed 
help  or  sympathy.  And  if  one  did  not  know  how  to 
do  anything  — 

"But  when  you  go  to  school  you  cannot  do  s^^ 
much,"  pursued  Ada.  "  There  will  be  all  your  les- 
sons. I  suppose  you  will  study  French  and  Italian 
You  cannot  think  how  I  was  complimented  on  mj 
singing  while  I  was  at  Saratoga.  Several  gentlemen 
said  my  pronunciation  was  wonderful  in  one  so  young. 
I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  come  out  next  summer." 

"  Come  out ! "  repeated  Kathie,  bewildered. 


26  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"Yes,  be  regularly  introduced  to  society.  I  am 
past  fifteen,  and  gro^Ying  tall  rapidly.  I  hope  I  shall 
have  an  elegant  figure.  I  want  to  be  a  belle.  Don't 
you  suppose  you  shall  ever  go  to  Saratoga  ? " 

''  I  don't  know,"  —  dubiously. 

"It  would  be  a  shame  for  you  to  grow  up  here 
wliere  there  is  no  society.  You  would  surely  be  an 
old  maid,  like  your  Aunt  Euth." 

"  She  is  n't  so  very  old,"  returned  Kathie,  warmly. 

"  But  every  woman  over  twenty-five  is  an  old 
maid.     I  mean  to  be  married  when  I  am  eighteen." 

Kathie  brushed  out  her  hair,  hung  up  her  clothes, 
and  waited  for  Ada  to  get  into  bed  so  that  she  might 
say  her  prayers  in  peace.  Ada  had  outgro^ATi  "  Our 
Father  w^hich  art  in  heaven,"  and  "  had  no  knack  of 
making  up  prayers,"  she  said. 

But  it  seemed  to  Kathie  that  there  were  always  so 
many  things  for  which  to  give  thanks,  so  many  fresh 
blessings  to  ask.  She  almost  wondered  a  little,  some- 
times, if  God  did  n't  get  tired  of  listening. 


DRAFTED.  27 


CHAPTER   TI. 

DRAFTED. 

Miss  Jessie  smiled  a  little  at  Ada's  assumption  of 
womanhood  when  the  two  girls  came  over  to  drink 
tea. 

"Ah,"  said  Grandmother  Darrell,  wiping  her 
glasses,  "  she  's  no  such  a  girl  as  Kathie !  The 
child  's  worth  half  a  dozen  of  her.  After  all,  there 's 
no  place  like  the  country  to  bring  up  boys  and  girls." 

For  Grandmother  Darrell,  like  a  good  many  other 
people,  fancied  everything  that  came  from  the  city 
must  be  more  or  less  contaminated. 

"I  tliink  Miss  Darrell  v:oulcl  make  your  uncle  a 
very  nice  wife,"  Ada  said,  graciously.  "Do  you 
suppose  there  is  anything  in  it  ?  " 

Katliie  flushed  scarlet,  remembering  the  pain  and 
trouble  of  last  winter.  "  I  don't  want  to  talk  about 
it,"  she  answered,  in  a  low  tone. 

Ada  nodded  her  head  sagaciously.  It  was  quite 
evident  that  she  had  hit  upon  the  trutk 


28  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Some  of  the  Brookside  girls  thought  Ada  "so 
splendid,"  Lottie  Thome  among  them,  who  now 
treated  Kathie  in  a  very  amiable  manner,  and  al- 
ways took  pains  to  speak  with  her  as  they  came 
out  of  church.  Of  course,  Lottie  w^as  growing  older 
and  a  little  more  sensible,  as  well  as  worldly  wise. 

They  took  Ada  to  all  the  pleasant  haunts,  rowed 
over  the  lake,  made  two  or  three  visits,  and  Mrs. 
Alston  invited  some  girls,  or  rather  young  ladies, 
to  tea ;  but  Ada  showed  a  decided  preference  for 
the  young  gentlemen.  Even  unsuspicious  Kathie 
remarked  how  soon  her  headaches  disappeared,  and 
liow  ready  she  was  to  sing  if  some  of  the  boys  would 
stand  at  the  piano  and  turn  her  music. 

"A  budding  coquette,"  said  Aunt  Euth,  with  a 
quiet  smile. 

"  What  a  pity  that  girls  should  be  reared  to  such 
idle,  frivolous  lives,  and  have  their  minds  so  filled 
with  vanity  and  selfishness ! "  Mrs.  Alston  replied. 
"  Can  such  blossoming  bring  forth  good,  wholesome 
fruit?" 

Mr.  Meredith  felt  a  little  annoyed.  The  visit 
was  not  quite  the  success  he  had  hoped,  and  he 
saw  more  clearly  than  ever  the  difference  between 


DRAFTED.  20 

the   two  girls ;    "but  ah,  how  unlike  their   mothers 


were 


Was  he  growing  more  serious,  clearer  -  eyed  ? 
AVhat  was  there  about  this  family  that  charmed  so 
insensibly  ?  The  higher  motives,  the  worthier  lives, 
with  a  more  generous  outlook  for  neighbor  and 
friend  ! 

Katliie  was  ashamed  to  confess  it  even  to  her- 
self, but  she  said  good  by  at  the  station  with  a 
sense  of  relief.  For  days  a  horrible  thought  had 
been  haunting  her,  —  suppose  Uncle  Eobert  sJwidd 
be  drafted !  The  abruptly  terminated  conversation 
had  not  been  renewed ;  indeed,  there  had  been  so 
many  pleasures  at  Cedarwood  that  one  hardly  want- 
ed to  bring  in  such  a  subject.  But  if  it  did  happen, 
Kathie  felt  she  should  want  no-  stranger  eyes  to 
witness  her  grief. 

For  when  the  question  came  directly  home,  she 
felt  that  she  could  not  give  him  up ;  yet  how  brave 
she  had  been  last  winter !  If  General  Mackenzie 
could  look  into  her  heart,  he  would  find  that  she 
hardly  deserv^ed  all  his  praise. 

But  all  Brookside  was  much  excited  over  tlie 
prospect.  Business  was  very  dull  and  bounties 
tempting ;  so  numbers  enlisted. 


so  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  Uncle  Ptobert,"  Katliie  said,  as  they  were  riding 
homeward,  "  could  a  drafted  man  offer  a  substitute 
just  the  same  ? " 

*'  Why,  yes,  to  be  sure." 

He  uttered  the  w^ords  in  such  a  light-hearted 
manner  that  she  felt  quite  relieved,  but  lacked  cour- 
age to  pursue  the  subject  further.  A  little  quiver 
would  keep  rising  from  her  heart  to  her  throat, 
interfering  with  the  steadiness  of  her  voice. 

By  Monday  night  seventy  men  were  still  needed 
to  complete  the  quota.  That  gave  Brookside  about 
forty. 

Kathie  wondered  how  they  could  all  go  on  with 
their  usual  routine.  Aunt  Euth,  even,  sat  by  the 
window  and  sang  "  Bonnie  Doon,"  as  she  sewed 
upon  Eob's  outfit.  His  uncle  had  decided  upon  a 
school  about  sixty  miles  distant,  a  flourishing  col- 
legiate institution,  in  a  healthy  locality,  —  a  quaint, 
quiet,  old-fashioned  town,  with  a  river  where  the 
boys  could  have  boating  and  swimming. 

"  It  is  so  far !  "  Mrs.  Alston  had  said  at  first. 

"  Xot  too  far,  though.  Of  course  we  do  not  expect 
him  to  come  home  eveiy  few  weeks.  That  always 
unsettles  a  boy." 


DRAFTED.  31 

So  she  jnade  no  further  demur.  The  principal, 
Dr.  Goldthwaite,  was  a  truly  religious  man,  and  the 
place  was  held  in  higli  esteem.  Perhaps  tliis  took 
their  thoughts  a  little  from  the  subject  that  was  so 
absorbing  to  Kathie. 

Piob  went  over  to  the  hall  and  hung  about  all  the 
morning.  He  did  find  a  good  deal  of  amusement  in 
it.  The  crowd  w^as  disposed  to  be  rather  jolly,  and 
several  of  the  men  took  their  luck  ^vith  great  good- 
humor.  It  was  as  his  uncle  had  said.  Wliile  they 
would  not  willingly  leave  their  homes  and  families, 
still,  if  the  country  had  need  of  them  in  her  immi- 
nent peril,  they  would  go.  Others,  sure  of  a  substi- 
tute, took  the  news  with  unconcern.  Only  a  few 
exhibited  any  anger,  or  declared  loudly  what  they 
would  and  w^liat  they  would  not  do. 

At  three  o'clock  the  printed  list  was  complete,  and 
the  notices  were  being  made  up. 

"  So  your  uncle  's  in  for  it,  Pob ! "  exclaimed  a  voice 
at  his  side. 

"  No,  you  're  mistaken.     I  listened  to  every  name." 

"  Here  it  is,  —  Ptobert  Conover  ! " 

Ptob  followed  the  grimy  finger  down  the  list.  Sure 
enough  !     His  heart  stood  still  for  a  moment. 


32  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"  He  will  get  a  sub,  though  !  He  'd  be  a  fool  to  go 
when  he  's  rich  enough  to  stay  at  home ! " 

^  Yes,  that  *s  it ! "  and  a  burly  fellow  turned, 
facing  them  with  a  savage  frown.  "  It 's  the  poor 
man  this  'ere  thing  comes  hard  on !  Eich  men  are 
all  cowards !  They  kin  stay  to  hum  and  nuss 
themselves  in  the  chimbly-comer.  I  say  they  're 
cowards ! " 

Ptob's  heart  swelled  within  him  for  a  twofold 
reason.  First,  the  shock.  He  had  not  been  able  to 
believe  that  the  draft  would  touch  them,  and  the 
surprise  was  very  great.  Then  to  have  his  uncle 
Galled  a  coward  !  All  the  boy's  hot,  unreasoning 
indignation  was   ablaze. 

"  He  is  not !  "  he  answered,  fiercely. 

"  Say  that  agin  and  I  '11  knock  you  over  ! " 

Eob  was  not  to  be  dared  or  to  be  bullied  into 
silence.     He  stood  his  ground  manfully. 

"  I  say  that  my  uncle  is  no  coward,  whether  he 
gets  a  substitute  or  not !  " 

The  fellow  squared  off.  It  was  Kit  Kent,  as  he 
was  commonly  called,  a  blacksmith  of  notoriously 
imsteady  habits. 

"  None  of  that ! "  and  a  form  was  interposed  be- 


DRAFTED.  33 

tween  Rob  and  his  assailant.  "  Hit  a  fellow  of  your 
size,  Kent,  not  a  boy  like  that." 

"  Let  the  youngster  hold  his  tongue  then !  Much 
he  knows ! " 

Eob  did  not  stir,  but  his  lips  turned  blue  and  al- 
most cold  with  the  pressure.  If  he  had  been  a  little 
larger,  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  could  not  have  let 
Kent  alone. 

"  There  's  a  chance  for  you  to  make  some  money," 
exclaimed  a  voice  in  the  crowd.  "Six  or  seven 
hundred  dollars,  and  you  *re  grumbling  about  being 
out  of  work  !  It 's  a  golden  opportunity,  and  you  'U 
never  find  another  like  it." 

That  turned  the  laugh  upon  Kent.  Rob  walked 
off  presently.  Turning  into  a  quiet  street,  he  nearly 
ran  over  two  men  who  stood  talking. 

"  The  trouble  is  that  you  can  hardly  find  a  substi- 
tute. Most  of  the  able-bodied  men  who  will  go  have 
enlisted  or  been  drafted.     The  look  is  mighty  poor  ! " 

That  startled  Rob  again.  He  began  to  feel  pretty 
sober  now.     Wliat  if  — 

Kathie  and  Aunt  Ruth  had  gone  out  into  the 
garden,  and  were  taking  up  some  flowers  for  winter. 

"  0  Rob  ! "  exclaimed  Kathie,  with  a  cry,  "  is  there 

3 


34  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

any  news  ?  It 's  the  worst,  I  know,"  answering  iier 
own  question,  her  breath  almost  strangling  her. 

"  Yes,  it  is  the  worst ! " 

"  Uncle  Eobert  has  been  drafted !"  Kathie  dropped 
her  trowel  and  flew  to  her  mother.  "  But  he  won't 
go,"  she  sobbed  ;  "  do  you  tliink  he  will  ?  How  can 
we  spare  him  ?  " 

"  It  would  be  no  worse  for  us  than  for  hundreds 
of  others,"  replied  her  mother.  "  Kathie,  my  darling, 
be  brave  until  we  know,  at  least." 

"  Where  is  he  ?  " 

"  He  went  to  Connor's  Point  with  Mr.  Langdon. 
Hush,  dear,  don't  cry." 

Kathie  wiped  away  her  tears.  "  It  is  very  hard," 
she  said.     "  I  never  realized  before  how  hard  it  was." 

But  the  flowers  lost  their  charm.  Kathie  put 
away  her  implements,  laid  off  her  garden-dress,  as 
she  called  it,  —  a  warm  woollen  sack  and  skirt, — 
and  sat  down,  disconsolately  enough,  to  practise  her 
music.     Next  week  she  was  going  to  school 

She  heard  Uncle  Eobert's  voice  on  the  porch  at 
the  side  entrance.  Eob  was  talking  in  great  earnest ; 
but  somehow  she  could  n't  have  gone  out,  or  trusted 
the  voice  still  so  full  of  tears. 


DRAFTED.  35 

He  came  in  at  length.  "You  have  heard  the 
news,  Kitty  ? " 

She  rose  and  went  to  his  arms,  hid  her  face  upon 
liis  shoulder.     "  0  Uncle  Robert ! " 

'*  What  ouglit  I  to  do,  little  one  ? " 

It  was  such  a  solemn  question  that  she  could  not 
answer  it  readily,  selfishly. 

"  Eob  came  very  near  getting  into  a  row  on  my 
behalf.  It  was  rather  funny.  Poor  boy  !  I  believe 
he  would  go  willingly  in  my  stead." 

The  story  interested  Katliie  a  good  deal,  and 
turned  tlie  current  of  her  feeUngs  somewhat.  Then 
one  or  two  of  the  neighbors  came  in,  and  they  had 
no  more  quiet  until  they  gathered  round  the  supper- 
table.    Freddy  thought  it  a  great  honor  to  be  drafted. 

"  Is  it  true  that  there  is  a  scarcity  of  substitutes  ? " 
asked  Rob  of  his  uncle. 

"  I  believe  it  is.  Mr.  Langdon  put  in  one  about  a 
month  ago,  and  paid  a  thousand  dollars." 

"  But  you  could  afford  that,"  said  Rob,  decisively. 

"  AMiat  about  the  cowardice  of  the  proceeding  ? " 

Rob  colored.  The  matter  appeared  so  different  to 
him  now. 

"  0  Uncle  Robert ! "  ~  in  a  most  deprecating  tone. 


36  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"I  will  not  perplex  you,  nor  keep  you  in  sus- 
pense/' he  said,  gravely.  "  If  your  father  was  alive 
I  think  I  should  not  hesitate  a  moment.  The  coun- 
try is  at  her  sorest  need,  and  calls  upon  her  loyal  chil- 
dren for  assistance.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  who 
can  be  spared  to  answer  the  call,  to  swell  the  list 
so  that  the  struggle  may  be  brief.  It  seems  to  me 
that  another  year  will  certainly  see  our  war  ended, 
now  that  we  have  such  brave  and  able  generals  in 
the  field,  but  if  the  stress  should  be  any  greater,  I 
must  respond.  Now,  however,  I  shall  do  my  best  to 
procure  a  substitute." 

They  all  drew  a  relieved  breath.  Kathie  looked 
up  with  a  tender  light  in  her  eyes. 

"  I  am  so  glad  ! "  she  said  afterward,  nestling  be- 
side him  upon  the  sofa.  "  Did  it  surprise  you  when 
you  heard  that  you  were  drafted  ? " 

"  I  must  confess  that  it  did.  I  had  a  presentiment 
that  I  should  escape,  so  it  seems  such  things  are  not 
always  to  be  depended  upon." 

Kathie  was  silent  for  some  time,  her  eyes  en- 
grossed with  a  figure  in  the  carpet. 

"  Well,  Miss  Thoughtful,  what  is  it  now  ?  Are  you 
not  satisfied  to  have  me  stay,  or  am  I  less  of  a  hero 
in  j^our  eyes  ? " 


DRAFTED.  37 

"  No,  Uncle  Eobert.  I  was  only  thinking  of  the 
men  who  were  compelled  to  go 'and  did  not  want  to, 
who  liad  families  to  leave  —  " 

"  ^ly  darling,  it  is  not  necessary  to  lay  the  cares  of 
others  so  deeply  to  heart.  Instead,  we  must  do  all 
we  can  for  those  who  are  left  behind." 

"  I  don't  tliink  a  draft  quite  a  fair  thing,  after  all," 
declared  Eob,  coming  out  of  a  brown  study. 

Mrs.  Alston  entered  the  room.  "  Mr.  Morrison  is 
over  here  and  wishes  to  see  you,  —  Ethel's  father." 

Uncle  Kobert  rose  and  went  out. 

In  the  mean  while  Aunt  Euth  and  Eob  had  quite 
a  warm  discussion  concerning  the  draft.  Kathie 
somehow  felt  very  tender-hearted,  and  was  silent. 

Presently  they  heard  steps  in  the  haU  and  the 
door  opened. 

"  I  have  brought  Mr.  Morrison  in  to  see  you  all," 
Mr.  Conover  said,  "  and  to  explain  to  you  that  he  de- 
sires to  go  in  my  stead,  a  willing  substitute." 

There  was  something  very  solemn  and  withal 
sweet  in  Uncle  Eobert's  voice.  Eob  winked  away  a 
tear.  Kathie  walked  over  to  Mr.  Morrison  and  laid 
her  hand  in  his,  —  a  pretty  white  hand  if  she  did 
dust  the  rooms  and  do  gardening  with  it 


38  KATHIE'S    SOLDIERS. 

"  It  is  SO  very  kind  and  generous  in  you,"  she  be- 
^gan,  falteringly,  tliin&ng  of  another  love  and  another 
substitute. 

"  No,  Miss  Kathie,  it  is  n't  all  pure  generosity,  so 
don't  praise  me  too  soon.  If  I  'd  been  real  lucky 
about  getting  work,  maybe  I  should  n't  have  taken 
the  idea  so  strongly  into  my  mind,  or  if  poor  Ethel's 
mother  had  Lived.  But  times  are  unsettled,  and 
business  of  all  kinds  is  so  very  dull  that  I  'd  half 
made  up  my  mind  to  'list  and  get  the  bounty.  That 
would  be  something  for  my  little  girl  in  case  she  did 
n't  have  me.  Then  when  I  heard  talk  of  the  draft 
1  thought  to  myself,  '  If  JVIr.  Conover  gets  taken  I  '11 
offer  to  go  in  his  place ' ;  and  so  I  waited.  Being  an 
Englishman,  I  am  not  hable,  you  know." 

"And  that  makes  it  the  more  noble,"  returned 
Kathie,  softly.  "It  was  so  good  to  —  to  think  of 
him " ;  and  her  voice  sank  to  a  whisper. 

"You  have  all  been  so  kind  to  my  poor  old 
mother,  and  to  me,  for  that  matter,  as  weU.  I  seem 
to  owe  some  sort  of  duty  to  you  first." 

"  Did  you  mean  to  enlist  any  way  ? "  asked  Ka- 
thie. 

"  Yes,  miss,  it  would  have  come  to  that ;  for,  said 


DKAFTED.  39 

I, '  Here  is  a  country  and  a  government  battling  in  a 
good  cause,  begging  for  men,  and  willing  to  provido 
for  the  little  ones  they  may  leave  behind.'  Thougli  I 
should  be  no  skulk,  nor  eye-server,  Miss  Kathie,  if  I 
did  go  for  the  money." 

"  We  should  never  think  that  of  you,"  returned 
Uncle  Kobert,  warndy. 

"  So  I  '11  be  glad  to  go  in  your  place,  sir,  if  it 's 
any  favor ;  and  if  you  '11  look  after  Ethel  a  little,  if 
anything  should  happen  to  me.  If  I  'm  too  bold  in 
asking  —  " 

"  No,"  said  Aunt  Euth ;  "  it  will  be  a  sacred  duty, 
and  a  pleasure  as  well ;  but  we  shall  count  upon 
your  return." 

"  Life  is  imcertain  with  us  all,"  was  the  grave 
reply.  With  that  he  rose  and  bowxd.  Uncle  Kob- 
ert left  the  room  with  him,  for  he  had  much  more 
to  say. 

"  I  could  n't  have  uttered  a  word,"  exclaimed  Eob, 
his  voice  still  a  little  tremulous.  "  Why,  it  's  just 
like  a  dream !  There  are  noble  and  heroic  men  who 
may  go  to  war  even  for  the  money,  though  I  think 
they  are  a  good  deal  sneered  at,  —  subs,  as  the  boys 
call  them  ;  but  I  shall  never  ridicule  tliem  again,  — 
never,  although  bad  men  may  do  the  same  thing." 


40  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"  It  is  not  quite  the  same,"  subjoined  Kathie. 

"  'No,  the  motive  makes  a  great  difiference." 

Uncle  Eobert  returned  and  took  his  seat  between 
the  children.  He  appeared  to  be  invested  ^vith  a 
new  virtue  in  their  eyes,  as  if  he  had  just  escaped  an 
imminent  and  deadly  peril  And  there  is  something 
in  the  simplest  act  of  chivalry  that  touches  one's 
soul. 

"  It  was  so  good  in  Mr.  Morrison  to  think  of  you," 
Eob  said,  after  a  while. 

"  Yes ;  going  farther  back,.  I  don't  know  but  we 
owe  it  all  to  Kathie.  If  she  had  not  thought  of 
our  trusty  and  efficient  gardener,  we  should  never 
have  known  his  brother.  The  lodge  has  made  a 
charming  home  for  them,  and  they  feel  deeply 
grateful." 

"  It  is  worse  to  go  away  to  war  than  I  imagined," 
Eob  continued,  gravely  following  out  his  own  musings. 

"  You  have  been  looking  at  the  glory  and  listening 
to  the  music,  my  boy ;  but  there  is  quite  another 
side  to  it.  It  is  one  thing  to  go  out  as  a  mounted 
officer,  in  glittering  uniform,  with  a  servant  to  wait 
upon  you,  and  if  you  fall  in  battle  to  have  whole 
cities  weep  your  loss,  and  quite  another  to  tramp  as 


DRAFTED.  41 

a  commom  soldier,  often  weary  and  footsore,  to  be 
subject  to  the  caprice  of  those  in  authority,  to  work 
night  and  day  sometimes,  to  stand  in  the  front  rank 
and  be  swept  down  by  a  terrific  charge,  be  trampled 
under  foot  and  thrown  into  a  nameless  grave,  per- 
haps forever  lost  to  your  kindred.  It  is  no  light 
matter,  Eob,  and  requires  a  good  deal  of  courage 
when  a  man  does  it  intelligently." 

"You  would  n't  have  gone  out  as  a  private, 
though ! " 

A  grave  smile  crossed  Uncle  Eobert's  face.  "I 
should  not  have  gone  for  the  glory,  but  the  duty. 
Yes,  Rob,  I  should  have  taken  my  place  in  the  ranks, 
and  if  the  great  Captain  of  all  had  said,  'Friend, 
come  up  higher,'  I  should  have  trusted  through 
his  grace  to  be  ready  for  the  promotion.  But  one 
goes  in  my  stead." 

Kathie  thought  of  the  One  who  had  gone  in  the 
place  of  us  all,  been  mocked,  derided,  spit  upon,  and 
put  to  a  cruel  death.  Maybe  the  rest  remembered  it 
too,  for  there  was  no  more  talking.  Their  hearts 
were  too  full 


42  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 


CHAPTEE    III. 

TRUE  TO   one's  COLORS. 

There  was  a  week  of  great  excitement  at  Brook- 
side.  Head-quarters  were  established  on  the  confines 
of  the  town  to  render  it  accessible  to  Taunton  and 
the  adjacent  places.  Hundreds  thronged  the  camp 
daily;  uniforms  were  sent  down,  and  drilling  com- 
menced in  good  earnest. 

Kathie  began  school  on  Monday  morning.  A 
large,  pleasant  room  had  been  obtained,  and  Mrs. 
Wilder  opened  with  ten  young  ladies,  though  nearly 
as  many  more  had  been  enrolled. 

"  I  feel  as  if  I  were  drafted,"  she  declared  to  Uncle 
Eobert.  "  I  know  it  is  my  duty  to  go  and  do  the 
best  that  I  can,  but  I  would  so  much  rather  have 
remained  at  home." 

"  You  find,  then,  that  no  one  is  quite  exempt  from 
the  warfare  ? "  and  he  smiled.  "  Still,  I  think  I  can 
trust  you  to  be  a  good  soldier." 

"  I  am  second  in  the  reofiment,"  she  said.  "  Mr. 
Morrison  must  always  stand  first." 


TRUE  TO  ONE'S  COLOES.  43 

It  seemed  very  quiet  and  lonesome  in  that  largo 
room,  where  you  were  put  upon  your  honor  not  to 
speak,  and  the  silence  was  broken  only  by  the  recita- 
tions, or  some  remark  of  ^Irs.  AVilder.  A  long,  dull 
day,  though  the  session  closed  at  two,  there  being  no 
intermission. 

Lottie  Thome  was  the  only  girl  Kathie  was  well 
acquainted  with.  That  ambitious  young  lady  had 
pleaded  very  hard  for  boarding-school,  and,  being  dis- 
appointed, was  lather  captious  and  critical.  Emma 
Lauriston  sat  next  to  her,  and  Kathie  fancied  she 
might  like  her  very  much.  She  had  met  her  in  the 
summer  at  the  rowdng-matches. 

But  she  was  glad  enough  to  get  home.  Kob  had 
his  head  full  of  Camp  Schuyler,  and  Freddy  had 
arrayed  himself  in  gorgeous  regimentals  and  sat  out 
on  a  post  dnimming  fearfully. 

"  I  want  a  little  more  talk  about  this  substitute 
business,"  said  Uncle  Robert,  at  the  table.  "Mr. 
Morrison  offered  to  go  for  seven  hundred  dollars. 
He  has  three  hundred  of  his  own.  Now  what  do 
you  think  we  ought  to  give  him  ?  " 

He  addressed  the  question  more  particularly  to 
Rob  and  Kathie. 


44  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

Eob  considered.  In  his  boy's  way  of  thinking  he 
supposed  what  any  one  asked  was  enough. 

"  Would  a  thousand  dollars  be  too  much  ? "  Kathie 
ventured,  timidly.  "  It  does  n't  seem  to  me  that  any 
money  could  make  up  to  Ethel  for  —  '* 

There  Kathie  stopped. 

"  He  will  come  back/'  exclaimed  Eob. 

"  We  were  talking  over  Ethel's  future  this  morn- 
ing. Mr.  Morrison  would  like  to  have  her  educated 
for  a  teacher.  I  am  to  be  appointed  her  guardian  in 
case  of  any  misfortune." 

"  It  ought  not  to  be  less  than  a  thousand,"  said 
Aunt  Euth. 

"I  thought  so  myself.  And  I  believe  I  shall 
pledge  my  word  to  provide  a  home  for  Ethel  in  case 
of  any  change  at  her  uncle's.'* 

Kathie's  deep,  soft  eyes  thanked  him. 

The  next  day  the  bargain  was  concluded.  Mr. 
Morrison  handed  his  small  sum  over  to  Mr.  Conover 
for  safe-keeping,  and  the  whole  amount,  thirteen  hun- 
dred dollars,  was  placed  at  interest.  Then  he.  re- 
ported himself  at  Camp  Schuyler  for  duty. 

Kathie  tried  bravely  to  like  her  school,  but  home 
was  so  much  dearer  and  sweeter.     It  was  quite  hard 


TRUE   TO   ONE'S  COLORS.  45 

after  her  desultory  life,  and  spasmodic  studying  made 
so  very  entertaining  by  Uncle  Eobert's  explanations, 
to  come  down  to  methodical  habits  and  details.  She 
meant  to  be  a  good  soldier,  even  if  it  did  prove  dif- 
ficult in  the  early  marches. 

But  this  week  was  one  of  events.  On  Thursday 
afternoon  ^Ir.  Meredith  surprised  them  all  again.  It 
seemed  to  Kathie  that  there  was  something  unusual 
in  his  face.  Uncle  Eobert  was  absent  on  important 
business,  and  at  first  he  appeared  rather  disap- 
pointed. 

"  It  is  such  a  glorious  afternoon,  Kitty,  that  I 
think  you  will  have  to  invite  me  out  to  drive,  by  way 
of  comfort.     Are  the  ponies  in  good  order  ?  '* 

"  Yes,  and  at  home.  How  fortunate  that  Eob  did 
not  take  them  ! " 

Kathie  ordered  them  at  once. 

"You  have  had  great  doings  here.  So  you  came 
near  losing  your  dear  uncle,  my  child  ? " 

Kathie  winked  away  a  tear.  There  would  always  be 
a  tender  little  spot  in  her  heart  concerning  the  matter. 

"It  is  best  under  the  circumstances,"  was  Mr. 
Meredith's  grave  comment.  "  I  should  not  want 
him  to  go." 


46  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

They  took  their  seats  in  the  phaeton.  "Where 
shall  we  drive  ?  "  Kathie  asked.  "  To  —  "  breaking 
off  her  sentence  with  a  little  blush. 

"  Miss  Darrell  is  away  from  home.  It  is  owing  to 
that  circmnstance  that  you  are  called  upon  to  enter- 
tain me  " ;  and  he  laughed  a  little,  but  less  gayly  than 
usual. 

It  was  a  soft,  lovely  autumn  day,  full  of  whisper- 
ings of  oaks  and  pines  and  cedars,  fragmentary  chirps 
of  bkds,  and  distant  river  music.  Kathie*  drew  a 
few  long  breaths  of  perfect  content,  then  with  her 
usual  consideration  for  others  she  stole  a  shy  glance 
to  see  if  jVIr.  Meredith  was  enjoying  it  as  well,  he 
was  so  very  quiet. 

"I  am  afraid  something  troubles  you,"  she  said, 
softly ;  and  her  voice  sounded  as  if  it  might  have 
been  a  rustle  of  maple  branches  close  at  hand.  "Is 
it  about  Uncle  Kobert  ? " 

"  No,  child,"  in  a  grave,  reflective  tone ;  "  it  is  — 
about  myseK." 

She  did  not  like  to  question  him  as  she  would 
have  done  with  Uncle  Eobert. 

"  Kitten,"  he  began,  presently,  "I  have  been  think- 
ing this  good  while,  and  thinking  slow]y.     A  greal 


TRUE  TO   ONE'S   COLORS.  47 

many  things  puzzle  me,  and  all  my  perplexities  have 
culminated  at  last  in  one  grand  step ;  but  Avhether 
I  am  quite  prepared  for  it  —  " 

The  sentence  was  a  labyrintli  to  Kathie,  and  she 
was  not  quite  sure  that  she  held  the  clew. 

"  I  am  going  to  enlist  —  at  least,  I  am  going  out 
for  three  months  —  with  my  regiment.  They  have 
volunteered,  most  of  them." 

"And  what  troubles  you?"  in  her  sweet,  tender 
voice,  and  glancing  up  with  an  expression  that  no 
other  eyes  save  Kathie  Alston's  could  have  had. 

"  Child,"  he  asked,  "  how  did  you  stand  fire  last 
winter  when  you  were  so  suddenly  brought  to  the 
front?     About  the  singing,  I  mean." 

She  understood.  He  referred  to  the  Sunday  even- 
ing at  Mrs.  Meredith's  when  she  had  refused  to  join 
Ada  in  singing  songs.  The  remembered  pain  still 
made  her  shiver. 

"There  is  something  about  you,  Kathie,  just  a 
little  different  from  other  children,  —  other  girls. 
You  often  carry  it  in  your  face ;  and  for  the  life 
of  me  I  cannot  help  thinking  how  the  wise  virgins 
must  liave  been  illuminated  with  their  tiny  lamps 
while  the  others  stood  in  darkness.  Is  it  a  natural 
gift  or  grace  ? " 


48  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

She  knew  now  what  he  meant.  She  was  called 
upon  to  give  testimony  here,  and  it  was  almost  as 
hard  as  in  Mrs.  Meredith's  grand  drawing-room. 
She  felt  tlie  warm  blood  throbbing  through  every 
pulse. 

*'  You  did  a  brave  thing  that  night,  little  girl  I 
shall  never  forget  it  —  never.  Can  you  answer  my 
question  ?     What  is  it  ? " 

She  could  only  think  of  one  thing,  one  sentence, 
amid  the  whirl  and  confusion  of  ideas  and  the 
girlish  shrinking  back,  —  "  The  love  of  Clirist  con- 
straineth  us." 

"  It  was  n't  merely  your  regard  for  your  mother  or 
Uncle  Eobert  ? " 

" It  was  all"  —  in  her  simple,  earnest  fashion. 

"  I  'm  going  out  there,  Kathie,"  nodding  his  head 
southward, "  to  stand  some  pretty  hard  fire,  doubtless. 
I  am  not  afraid  of  physical  pain,  nor  the  dropping 
out  of  life,  though  existence  never  was  sweeter  than 
now ;  but  if,  in  the  other  country,  the  record  of  my 
useless  years  rises  sharp  against  me,  what  shall  I 
answer  ?  I  have  never  tried  to  do  anything  for  the 
glory  of  God!  Child,  you  shame  all  our  paltry- 
lives!" 


TRUE  TO   ONE'S   COLORS.  49 

"  0,  don't ! "  with  a  suggestion  of  pain  in  her  voice ; 
"  what  I  can  do  is  such  a  very  little." 

She  would  never  know  how  tlie  simple  acts  of  her 
life,  springing  from  the  hidden  centre  that  was  deeper 
even  than  her  every-day  thought,  was  to  bear  fruit  on 
wide-spread  branches. 

"  And  yet  we  —  I  —  do  nothing.  I  should  have 
to  go  empty-handed." 

She  cast  about  for  some  words  of  comfort.  As 
girl  of  woman  Kathie  Alston  would  never  be  able  to 
realize  all  the  frivolousness,  to  say  nothing  of  vanity, 
selfishness,  and  deeper  sins,  crowded  into  this  man's 
life,  which  still  looked  so  fair  by  outward  comparison 
with  others. 

"  Ever  since  Mr.  Morrison  offered  to  go  in  Uncle 
Eobert's  place  this  verse  has  been  lingering  in  my 
mind  :  '  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a 
man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends,'  It  seems  to  me 
that  it  does  n't  mean  physical  life  altogether,  but  all 
the  times  and  places  when  we  take  something  pre- 
cious out  of  our  own  lives  and  put  it  into  that  of 
others.  And  every  man  who  goes  now  may  be  called 
upon  to  suffer  in  some  other's  stead.  If  he  do  it 
bravely,  is  it  not  a  little  of  the  good  fruit  ?     I  can't 

4 


50  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

explain  all  I  mean,  only  just  as  the  Saviour  loved  lis 
we  ought  to  love  every  one  else." 

Edward  Meredith  had  listened  to  many  an  elo- 
quent sermon,  and  dissected  it  in  a  purely  intel- 
lectual fashion,  his  heart  never  warming  with  any  in- 
ward grace,  or  hungering  after  the  true  bread.  But 
he  understood  now  the  secret  of  this  little  girl's  life. 
Not  doctrine,  not  so  much  creed,  or  form,  or  rule, 
*'  but  the  taking  something  precious  out  of  her  daily 
existence  and  noiselessly  placing  it  in  that  of  others." 
And  the  same  love  which  enabled  her  to  do  this 
rendered  her  brave,  pure,  and  sweet.  A  child's  relig- 
ion, that  a  year  or  two  ago  he  would  have  sneered 
at,  and  now  he  had  come  to  learn  of  her  because  he 
was  too  proud  to  ask  others,  and  perhaps  ashamed. 

"  But  you  had  a  substitute ! "  she  said,  presently, 
bethinking  herself. 

"  Yes.  He  has  served  his  time  out  honorably,  has 
had  the  good  fortune  to  come  home  without  harm  of 
any  kind.  You  remember  how  Mackenzie  bantered 
me  last  winter,  though  he  was  in  dead  earnest.  But 
the  country  is  at  her  extremest  need  now ;  if  Grant, 
Sherman,  and  our  other  generals,  are  strengthened 
by  good  reinforcements,  it  seems  to  me  that  in  six 


TRUE  TO   ONE'S  COLORS.  51 

months  we  might  have  peace.  I  have  done  a  good 
deal  of  holiday  soldiering  in  my  life,  but  this  is  to 
be  sober  earnest." 

He  looked  as  if  it  might  be. 

''When  will  you  go?" 

"  We  start  for  Washington  on  Saturday  morning.** 

"  So  soon !  Does  —  Miss  Jessie  know  ?  "  Kathie 
could  not  help  but  ask  it,  though  the  lids  trembled 
over  her  shy,  downcast  eyes. 

"She  should  have  received  my  note  this  morn- 
ing. I  suppose  she  did  not,  or  she  would  have  been 
at  home.  Katliie,  I  ought  to  thank  you  for  your 
rare  delicacy  in  keeping  our  secret.  There  are  some 
matters  that  one  does  not  like  to  have  talked  about." 

What  would  Mss  Jessie  say  ?  Of  course  she 
loved  Mr.  Meredith  very  much.  Kathie's  heart 
ached  a  little  in  silence,  but  this  was  one  of  the  bur- 
dens that  could  not  be  borne  by  another. 

On  they  went  through  lovely  scenery,  now  and 
then  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  river  that  wound 
around  like  a  silver  cord  through  its  bed  of  green. 
Here  in  the  stillness  they  heard  the  chatter  of  squir- 
rels and  the  sound  of  dropping  nuts,  or  an  autumn- 
tinted  leaf  went  floating  on  the  air  like  some  gor- 


52  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

geous  "bird  with  his  wings  all  aflame.  Golden-rod 
and  great  clumps  of  purple  Michaelmas  daisies  starred 
the  roadside,  with  frequent  clusters  of  scarlet  su- 
mach, pendent  bitter-sweet  berries  with  the  still 
glossy  green  leaves,  and  the  dark  tint  of  spruce  and 
fir. 

Kathie  began  to  realize  how  her  heart  and  intel- 
lect had  expanded.  She  was  no  longer  a  little  girl. 
How  she  had  grown  within  and  without  was  a  great 
mystery,  as  well  as  how  her  soul  had  enriched  itself . 
with  drawing  near  to  others,  and  going  forth  again 
with  the  sweet,  half-comprehending  sympathies  of 
girlhood. 

"I  have  been  a  dull  companion,"  Mr.  Meredith 
said,  at  length.  "  But,  Kathie,  I  shall  never  forget 
the  happy  days  I  have  spent  at  Cedarwood.  To  have 
known  you  is  one  of  the  bright  events  in  my  life." 

They  were  coming  up  the  avenue,  and  saw  Uncle 
Eobert  standing  on  the  broad  porch.  She  might 
never  have  another  opportunity  to  speak,  and  he  had 
been  so  peculiarly  serious  this  afternoon. 

"O  Mr.  Meredith,  you  won't  forget  —  when  you 
are  out  there  —  that  there  is  another  service,  and  an- 
other Captain  — " 


TRUE  TO   ONE'S  COLORS.  5iJ 

"  Pray  for  me,  Kathie,  that  I  may  be  one  of  His 
faithful  soldiers  to  my  life's  end." 

She  ran  up  stairs  afterward,  and  the  two  gentle- 
men had  a  long  talk  in  the  library.  After  supper 
Mr.  Meredith  said  good  by,  as  he  expected  to  leave 
the  Darrells'  to  take  the  early  morning  train. 

"  I  do  believe  everybody  is  going  to  war ! "  ex- 
claimed Eob,  rather  ruefully.  "I  wonder  if  we  shall 
ever  have  such  good  times  again." 

Eob  spent  the  next  forenoon  in  packing. 

"  How  all  these  things  are  to  be  gotten  into  one 
trunk  I  cannot  imagine  ! "  he  exclaimed,  in  de- 
spair. 

"  I  fancy  that  you  had  better  put  the  clothes  in 
first,  and  leave  the  'things,'  as  you  call  them,  until 
the  last,"  said  Aunt  Ruth,  with  a  quiet  smile. 

"  But  I  shall  want  them  all,  I  'm  sure." 

"  Not  your  whole  tool-chest ! " 

"Some   of  the  articles  would   come   in   so   han- 

dy." 

"  To  assist  you  in  learning  your  lessons  ?  "  asked  his 
mother. 

"  0,  you  know  what  I  mean.  Now,  motlier,  you 
won't  let  Freddy  meddle  with  them  while  I  am  gone, 


54  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

—  will  you  ?  He  always  does  manage  to  get  into 
everything." 

"  The  best  way  wiU  be  to  put  all  that  you  can  in 
the  closet  of  your  play-room,  and  give  Uncle  Robert 
the  key.     Lock  all  your  drawers  as  welL" 

One  would  have  fancied  that  Eob  was  going  to 
Europe,  to  say  the  very  least.  After  he  had  tumbled 
the  articles  in  and  out  about  twenty  times,  he  con- 
cluded that  he  would  go  down  to  the  stable  to  see 
about  some  trifle. 

So  his  mother  soon  had  the  trunk  in  order,  though 
she  quietly  restored  half  the  "  traps "  to  their  place 
in  the  play-room,  and  I  doubt  if  Eob  ever  missed 
them. 

Saturday  was  another  very  busy  time  with  him. 
He  had  to  take  a  farewell  glimpse  of  Camp  Schuyler, 
to  visit  hosts  of  the  boys,  to  take  a  last  row,  a  last 
ride,  a  last  game  of  ball,  and  one  might  have 
imagined  from  all  these  preparations  that  he  was 
about  to  enter  a  dungeon  and  leave  the  cheerful  ways 
of  life  behind. 

But  Rob  was  beginning  to  have  quite  serious 
moods  occasionally  ;  and  the  last  Sunday  at  home  was 
one  of  them.     He  did  not  feel  nor  understand  the 


TRUE  TO   ONE'S  COLORS.  55 

transition  state  as  keenly  as  Kathie,  hQ  was  such 
a  thorough,  careless,  rollicking  boy.  He  would  play 
until  the  last  gasp,  —  "until  whiskers  began  to 
sprout,"  he  said,  —  and  he  would  make  one  of  the 
men  to  whom  recollections  of  boyish  fun  would 
always  be  sweet. 

The  sermon*  in  the  morning  touched  him  a  little, 
and  then  the  talk  with  Charlie  Darrell.  The  Dar- 
rells  felt  very  badly  over  the  present  loss  of  their 
dear  friend;  and  Kathie  just  pressed  Miss  Jessie's 
fingers,  but  spoke  no  word. 

"  I  do  mean  to  try^'  Eob  said,  that  evening,  to 
Kathie.  "  It  seems  almost  as  if  I  were  really  going 
to  war,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  them." 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  gravely ;  "  you  will  find 
enough  fighting  to  do,  —  foes  without  and  with- 
in." 

"  I  have  learned  some  things,  though,"  —  with  a 
confident  nod,  —  "  and  I  shall  never  forget  about  the 
giants.  What  odd  times  we  have  had,  Kathie,  from 
first  to  last !  " 

"  I  wonder  if  you  will  be  homesick  ? " 

"  Pshaw  !  No.  A  great  boy  like  me  !  No  doubt 
there  '11  be  lots  of  fun." 


56  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"  But  I  hope  you  will  not  get  into  any  troubles  or 
scrapes.  0  Eob !  it  is  real  difficult  to  always  do 
just  what  is  right,  when  oftentimes  wrong  things 
seem  so  much  pleasanter." 

"  I  wonder  why  it  is,  Kathie  ?  It  always  looked 
rather  hard  to  me.  Wliy  did  n't  God  make  the 
wrong  so  that  you  could  see  it  plainly  ? " 

"If  we  see  it,  that  is  sufficient.  Maybe  if  we 
kept  looking  at  it  steadily  it  would  grow  larger; 
but  you  know  we  often  turn  to  the  pleasant  side 
when  we  should  be  watching  the  danger." 

"  I  don't  believe  that  I  can  ever  be  real  good ; 
but  I  '11  never  tell  a  lie,  nor  be  mean,  nor  shirk,  nor 
cheat !  I  want  to  be  a  real  splendid  man  like  Mr. 
Meredith ! " 

Eob  would  never  outgrow  that  boyish  admiration. 
Edward  ^Meredith  would  have  felt  a  good  deal  hum- 
bled if  he  had  known  how  this  boy  magnified  some 
of  his  easy-going  ways  into  virtues. 

They  had  a  sweet,  sad  time  singing  in  the  even- 
ing. Kathie  had  begun  to  play  very  nicely,  with 
a  great  deal  of  expression  and  tenderness ;  and  to- 
night all  the  breaks,  all  the  farewells,  and  the  loneli- 
ness to  come,  seemed  to  be  struggling  in  her  soul. 


TRUE  TO  ONE'S  COLORS.  57 

She  was  glad  that  no  one  saw  her  face,  for  now  and 
then  a  tear  dropped  unbidden. 

Kob  and  his  mother  had  their  last  talk  at  bed- 
time. Her  heart  was  sad  enough  at  the  thought  of 
the  nine  montlis'  absence,  for  at  Westbury  there 
were  no  short  vacations.  True,  she  would  have  the 
privilege  of  visiting  him,  but  such  inter\dews  must, 
of  necessity,  be  brief. 

He  lay  awake  a  long  while,  thinking  and  resolv- 
ing. How  many  times  he  had  "  tried  to  be  good." 
Why  could  n't  he  remember  ?  What  was  it  that 
helped  his  mother,  and  Uncle  Eobert,  and  Kathie  ? 
The  grace  of  God ;  but  then  how  was  one  to  get 
this  grace  ? 

Wandering  off  into  the  fields  of  theology,  Kob  fell 
asleep,  and  never  had  another  thought  until  the 
breakfast-bell  rang.  Then,  as  he  recalled  his  per- 
plexity, he  said  slowly  to  himself,  "  I  don't  believe 
religion  comes  natural  to  boys." 

The  parting  w^as  sad,  after  all.  A  thousand 
thoughts  rushed  into  his  mind.  What  if  he  should 
be  homesick  ?  Here  was  the  roomy  playhouse, 
with  its  store  of  tools,  books  in  abundance,  the 
ponies,  the  lake,  the  boys,  —  O,  everything !  and 
Rob's  fast-coming  breatli  was  one  great  sob. 


58  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"A  gooa  soldier,"  Kathie  whispered,  as  his  arms 
Were  round  her  neck. 

Uncle  Robert  did  not  return  until  the  next  day. 
The  accounts  were  very  encouraging.  Clifton  Hall 
had  taken  Rob's  fancy  at  once.  The  boys  were 
coming  in  on  Monday ;  so  there  was  little  done 
beside  fraternizing  and  being  classified  and  shown 
to  their  dormitories.  He  had  written  a  little  scrap 
of  a  note  stating  that  "  everything  was  lovely." 

They  missed  him  very  much.  Kathie  began  to 
wonder  if  her  winter  would  n't  be  lonesome.  No 
gay  Mr.  Meredith  to  drop  in  upon  them  now  and 
then ;  no  noisy,  merry  boys  such  as  had  haunted  the 
grounds  aU  summer.  She  began  to  feel  sadly  dis^ 
consolate. 

But  she  rallied  presently.  "  I  must  fight  as  well 
as  my  soldi€!i"S,"  she  said  to  herself. 

The  next  event  was  Mr.  Morrison's  departure. 
Uncle  Robert  took  both  families  over  the  day  they 
"broke  camp." 

Mr.  Morrison  wrung  Uncle  Robert's  hand  warm- 
ly. "  It  will  be  all  right,  whatever  comes,"  he 
said.  "If  I  had  not  gone  for  you  I  should  have  done 
it  for  some  one  else,  so  never  give  yom-self  an  anx- 


TRUE  TO  ONE'S  COLORS.  59 

ioiis  thought  about  it.     I  know  my  little  lass  is  in 
good  hands." 

.  He  kissed  Ethel  many,  many  times,  and  she  clung 
to  him  with  an  almost  breaking  heart.  Kathie's 
quick  eyes  saw  a  duty  here. 


60  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 


CHAPTEE    IV. 

LITTLE  STEPS  BY  THE  WAY. 

But  Kathie  found  that  the  regiment's  marching 
off  to  Virginia  had  not  taken  all  the  interest  of  life. 
They  had  left  the  woods  behind,  glowing  with  rich 
autumnal  coloring,  the  glorious  blue  heavens,  the 
ripening  fruits,  and  the  changeful  scenes,  that  opened 
afresh  every  day. 

Her  afternoons  were  quite  a  delight.  Uncle  Robert 
always  held  himself  in  readiness,  and  they  had  either 
a  ride  or  a  ramble.  There  were  new  collections  of 
ferns  to  make,  and  with  these  she  often  had  an  en- 
tertaining lesson  in  botany. 

October  was  very  pleasant  indeed.  There  was  no 
frost  to  mention  until  the  middle  of  the  month,  and 
by  that  time  the  flowers  were  safely  housed.  Hugh 
Morrison  had  built  a  conservatory  against  the  south 
side  of  the  barn,  and  promised  Kathie  bouquets  all 
winter. 

Kathie  began  to  look  up  her  old  friends  as  well. 


LITTLE   STEPS   BY   THE   WAY-  61 

and  she  joined  the  girls  in  several  nutting  expedi- 
tions, at  which  they  had  rare  fun. 

AVithal  she  had  a  brief  note  from  Ada,  who  won- 
dered if  she  approved  the  foolish  step  Uncle  Edward 
had  taken.  Papa  was  positively  angry  about  it] 
And  then  the  idea  of  going  out  as  a  private,  even  if 
it  was  in  a  "  crack  "  regiment.  However,  they  really 
did  n't  mean  to  fight,  and  that  was  some  comfort. 
He  would  be  at  home  by  the  first  of  January. 

But  General  Grant  evinced  no  desire  to  go  into 
winter  quarters,  while  at  the  South  and  West  there 
was  unusual  activity." 

"  It  looks  as  if  there  might  be  considerable  fight- 
ing before  Christmas  ! "  declared  Uncle  Eobert. 

For  the  few  who  chose  to  find  them  there  were 
duties  enough.  Brookside,  as  well  as  other  places, 
began  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  war.  There  were  sol- 
diers' widows  and  orphans,  the  sick  and  the  wounded 
who  were  sent  home  to  make  room  for  newer  cases. 
Then  the  churches  at  Brookside  decided  to  give  a 
grand  Fair  and  Festival  for  this  benevolent  object, 
to  be  held  Thanksgiving  week. 

l^thie  found  her  hands  quite  full.  Still  she  found 
time  to  dust  the  parlor  every  morning  and  take  care 


62  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

of  her  own  room,  and  often  managed  to  get  half  an 
hour  for  her  music  practice.  To  be  sure,  she  did 
not  dawdle  over  her  dressing,  neither  was  there  a 
waterfall  wonderfully  constructed,  and  adorned  with 
puffs  and  braids. 

"  I  mean  to  keep  my  little  girl  simple  in  her  tastes 
as  long  as  I  can,"  Mrs.  Alston  replied  to  the  dress- 
maker. "  Nothing  can  be  prettier  than  her  hair  as  it 
is,  and  I  do  not  feel  justified  in  dressing  her  expen- 
sively when  there  are  so  many  children  suffering  with 
cold  and  hunger." 

"  But  young  girls  feel  so  sensitive  on  these  mat- 
ters," was  the  reply.  "  They  all  want  to  look  like 
their  companions." 

"  I  hope  there  are  some  sensible  mothers  left,"  re- 
turned Mrs.  Alston  with  a  smile. 

Kathie  was  very  much  interested  in  gettiug  con- 
tributions and  making  fancy  articles,  though  hers 
tended  rather  to  the  useful.  And  Aunt  Euth,  to  her 
great  amusement,  made  np  a  dozen  stout  gingham 
kitchen  aprons  vrith  bibs,  a  stack  of  kettle-holders, 
and  knitted  some  dishcloths  out  of  soft  cotton. 

In  the  mean  while  Kathie  was  delighted  with  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Meredith.     He  was  in  the  gayest 


LITTLE  STEPS  BY  THE  WAY.  63 

spirits  and  related  a  host  of  comical  episodes.  He 
had  been  in  several  skirmishes,  but  no  regular  battle, 
was  well  and  hearty,  and  brown  as  a  berry  already. 
Just  at  the  last  he  said,  "  I  have  not  forgotten  our 
pleasant  ride,  and  the  other  fighting  we  talked  about." 

Mr.  Morrison  was  doing  very  well  also.  Kathie 
began  to  think  that  it  was  not  such  a  terrible  thing 
to  go  to  war,  after  all. 

As  for  Eob,  his  record  was  pretty  fair.  He  did 
confess  to  being  a  little  homesick  at  first.  The  Latin 
was  "awful  tough  work,"  and  some  of  the  rules 
"rather  hard  on  a  fellow  who  was  new  to  them/' 
But  they  had  a  "jolly  set  of  boys,"  and  he  liked  it 
first-rate. 

So  Kathie  had  no  need  to  worry  about  her  soldiers. 
She  said  a  little  prayer  for  them  night  and  morning, 
and  thought  of  them  often.  But  she  was  so  busy 
and  so  happy  that  she  was  little  inclined  to  look  upon 
the  dark  side. 

The  Fair  was  a  decided  success.  It  was  held  at 
Mason's  Hall  and  opened  on  Monday  evening. 
Emma  Lauriston,  and  a  number  of  the  larger  girls, 
were  in  attendance  upon  the  tables.  The  band  came 
up   from   Connor's   Point   and    discoursed    patriotic 


64  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

music.  Tlie  hall  was  large,  well  lighted,  and  pre- 
sented a  very  gay  appearance. 

But  the  most  amusement  was  created  by  a  "  Dutch 
kitchen."  Several  ladies  had  transformed  a  small 
ante-room  into  a  very  attractive  place  of  resort. 
There  were  great  brown  rafters  overhead,  from  which 
depended  hams,  flitches  of  bacon,  strings  of  onions, 
bunches  of  herbs,  and  at  the  edge  were  stowed  away 
miscellaneous  articles.  A  great  eight-day  clock, 
chairs,  and  an  old  brass-handled  dresser  that  might 
have  come  over  in  the  Mayflower,  while  four  pretty 
young  girls,  in  the  quaint  old  costume  of  their  grand- 
mothers, waited  upon  the  table  with  all  grace  and 
ease.  This  was  crowned  with  an  immense  dish  of 
beans  and  pork,  and  a  stout,  rosy  Dutch  woman  was 
baking  waffles.  Altogether  this  was  the  place  for 
fun. 

Kathie  had  been  in  and  out  half  a  dozen  times. 
Her  Fortunatus's  purse  was  full  to  repletion,  and 
every  time  she  passed  the  door  she  saw  some  chil- 
dren standing  there  with  wistful  eyes.  It  was  such 
a  delightful  thing  to  make  any  one  happy. 

Sauntering  round,  she  came  to  a  rather  oddly  ar- 
ranged table,  —  Miss  Weston's.    She  was  the  primmest 


LITTLE   STEPS   BY   THE   WAY.  65 

and  queerest  of  old  maids,  —  a  little  body  with  weak 
eyes  and  flaxen  hair,  who  always  looked  at  you 
sharply  through  gold-bowed  spectacles. 

"  0  dear  ! "  she  exclaimed,  "  how  you  young  things 
do  go  flyin'  round  !  As  for  me,  I  'm  that  tired  I  'ni 
just  ready  to  drop.  I  've  been  here  ever  sence  two 
o'clock  and  never  set  down  a  minnit.  I  fixed  all 
my  table  myself,  and  I  made  nigh  onto  all  the  things. 
Cousin  Hitty,  she  sent  me  them  there  child's  aperns ; 
but  land !  what  a  sight  of  folly  it  is  to  do  all  that 
braidin'  and  nonsense !  I  never  had  no  sech  thing 
when  I  was  little !     Been  in  the  Dutch  kitchen  ?  " 

"  0  yes,  time  and  again." 

"  I  'd  like  to  go,  I  'm  sure.  I  've  been  standin' 
stiddy  on  my  feet  sence  two  o'clock.  If  some  one 
would  come  along  and  take  my  table  ! " 

"  Could  n't  I  ?  "  asked  Kathie. 

"  0,  you  're  so  flighty  !  All  gals  are  nowadays. 
Why,  when  I  was  no  older  'n  you  I  had  seven 
bed-quilts  pieced,  and  had  begun  to  lay  by  sheets  anc: 
pillow-slips,  and  had  a  dozen  pairs  of  as  han'some 
hum-knit  stockings  as  you  'd  find  in  a  day:'s 
walk ! " 

Miss  Weston  really  did  look  tired.     Kathie  was 


66  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

debating  whether  she  should  not  insist,  though  this 
was  an  out-of-the-way  corner,  and  rather  dull. 

"  "Well,  I  guess  I  '11  go.  You  won't  be  likely  to 
sell  anything ;  nothing  much  sells  the  first  night, 
and  I  hain't  no  nonsense  and  flummeiy.  Good  use- 
ful articles,  but  nobody  can  see  their  virtue  nowadays. 
It 's  the  way  of  the  world  ! "  —  a  little  spitefully.  "  All 
the  prices  are  marked  in  plain  figgers,  and  t  won't 
have  a  thing  undersold.  0  dear,  I  am  a'most  beat 
out." 

"  I  *11  do  my  best,"  said  Kathie,  sweetly. 

After  giving  about  a  dozen  more  orders  Miss  Wes- 
ton moved  slowly  away,  though,  truth  to  tell,  she 
was  more  anxious  to  go  than  she  appeared;  and 
w^hom  should  she  meet  just  at  the  entrance  but  Mr. 
Denslow,  who  paid  the  ten  cents'  admittance  fee. 
Mr.  Denslow,  moreover,  was  a  widower,  and  Miss 
Weston  had  not  quite  given  up  the  hope  that  the 
bed-quilts  and  the  stores  of  linen  might  some  day 
be  called  into  use. 

Kathie  took  her  place  behind  the  table,  and,  when 
the  moments  began  to  hang  heavy,  ventured  upon  a 
few  improvements.  The  passers-by  just  gave  the 
place  a  glance,  and  prefeiTed  to  go  where  there  were 


LITTLE   STEPS  BY  THE  WAY.  67 

some  pretty  girls  or  some  fun.  Kathie  found  it 
exceedingly  dull. 

At  last  ^lary  Cox  spied  her  out.  Charlie  Darrell 
was  escorting  her  roimd. 

"Why,  Miss  Weston,"  he  said,  softly,  "where  [s 
your  specs  ?  And  why  is  n't  your  hair  done  up  in 
queer  little  puffs  ? " 

"  What  an  ugly  table  ! "  exclaimed  Mary.  "  How 
did  you  come  to  take  it  ? " 

"  Miss  Weston  was  so  tired." 

"  She  is  in  the  Dutch  kitchen,  desperately  sweet 
upon  Mr.  Denslow.  It 's  so  seldom  that  she  gets 
a  beau  that  you  need  n't  expect  her  for  the  next 
hour.     ^Vhat  a  lovely  time  you  will  have  waiting  ! " 

Charlie  would  have  been  very  well  satisfied  to 
stay  and  talk  to  Kathie,  but  Mary  wanted  the 
amusement  of  rambling  round  and  laughing  with 
every  one ;  and  though  Kathie  said,  beseechingly, 
"  Don't  go  !  "  Mary  replied,  "  0,  we  must ! "  and  the 
child  w^as  left  alone  again. 

Down  at  the  end  of  the  hall  they  \vere  having 
a  merry  time.  She  saw  grave  Emma  Lauriston 
laughing,  and  Aunt  Euth  was  talking  and  smiling. 
Why  did  n't  some  one  think  of  her  ? 


68  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"  How  mucli  fur  these  caliker  apems  ? "  asked 
a  country  woman. 

Kathie  roused  a  little  at  the  question,  and  took 
her  eyes  from  the  entertaining  circle. 

"HaK  a  doUar!" 

"  Half  a  dollar ! "  —  in  the  utmost  surprise.  "  Why, 
they  ain't  wuth  it !  Ain't  more  'n  two  yards  of  cali- 
ker in  'em,  and  I  kin  buy  jest  sich  for  fifteen  cents 
a  yard." 

"  But  the  making,"  suggested  Kathie. 

"  0,  that  was  throwed  in  !  Always  is  in  char'table 
objects.  Tell  you  what  I  '11  do,  —  give  three  shil- 
lin's  apiece  for  two  of  'em.     It 's  a  good  object." 

Now  Kathie  knew  that  the  calico  could  not  be 
bought  for  less  than  eighteen  cents  a  yard,  which 
would  give  just  one  cent  profit ;  besides.  Miss  Wes- 
ton had  charged  her  particularly  not  to  undersell. 
"The  table  is  not  mine,"  she  answered;  "I  am 
keeping  it  for  a  friend." 

Perhaps  the  woman  considered  there  was  a  better 
chance  of  bargain-making ;  at  all  events  she  lingered 
and  haggled  until  Kathie  grew  nervous,  and  wished 
Miss  Weston  would  come. 

"Well,  you  're  dreadful  dear, — that  's  all  I  'vo 


LITTLE  STEPS   BY   THE   WAY.  69 

got  to  say " ;  and  the  woman  flounced  off  angrily. 
"  It  's  just  the  way  at  these  fairs  and  things ;  but 
you  can't  cheat  me  out  of  my  eyes,  char'ty  or  not." 
Then  Kathie  was  left  alone  again. 

Presently  Harry  Cox  ran  over.  "We  're  having 
such  fun,  and  Charlie  sent  me  for  you.  There  's  no 
one  here,  so  why  can't  you  shut  up  shop  ? " 

Kathie  longed  to  very  much.  She  might  keep  an 
eye  on  the  table  and  have  a  little  fun  besides;  but 
it  would  be  deserting  her  post.  No  true  soldier 
would  do  that.  "  I  'm  obliged  to  you,  but  I  think 
I  had  better  stay ;  Miss  Weston  will  soon  be  here." 

"  She  's  an  old  humbug  ! " 

The  sights  and  sounds  were  so  tantalizing  !  What 
luas  Mss  Weston  doing  in  the  Dutch  kitchen  all  this 
while? 

At  last  a  bit  of  good-fortune  befell  Kathie.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Adams  and  Mr.  Langdon  came  along.  Mr. 
Langdon  had  been  away  from  Brookside  for  several 
weeks,  and  had  a  host  of  questions  to  ask. 

"  But  what  are  you  doing  over  here  ?  You  look 
as  if  you  had  quarrelled  with  your  neighbors,  and 
gone  off  in  disdain." 

Kathie  explained  that  it  was  not  her  table. 


70  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  Have  you  sold  anj^hing  ?  " 

"  Not  a  penny's  worth  !  " 

"Then  I  must  patronize  you  a  little,"  declared 
Mrs.  Adams. 

She  found  a  number  of  useful  articles,  and  some 
that  she  could  give  away  to  her  poor  parishioners. 
Kathie  was  quite  proud  of  the  four  dollars  in  the 
small  cash-box. 

At  last  she  was  relieved,  and  gave  a  great  breath 
of  thankfulness. 

"  Is  that  all  you  've  taken  in  ? "  asked  Miss  Wes- 
ton, rather  sharply.  "Are  you  sure  you  Ve  been 
here  all  the  time  ?  But  you  never  can  find  any 
one  who  will  do  for  you  as  you  do  yourself" 

"  I  did  not  have  but  one  customer,"  returned 
Kathie,  in  justification ;  and  she  felt  that  Mrs. 
Adams  had  made  her  purchases  from  a  sense  of 
personal  friendship. 

"  I  might  better  'a'  stayed  with  my  table,"  was 
the  ungracious  answer ;  and  that  was  all  the  thanks 
Kathie  received  for  her  kind  deed  and  the  discom- 
fort. But  she  solaced  herself  with  the  consciousness 
that  a  great  many  good  deeds  meet  with  no  reward 
in  this  world.     IVIiss  Weston  must  certainly  have 


LITTLE   STEPS   BY   THE   WAY.  71 

had  some  pleasure,  or  she  would  not  have  stayed 
so  long. 

Kathie  was  glad  to  get  back  to  her  mother  and 
Aunt  Euth.  The  great  source  of  amusement  over 
here  was  the  confectionery  table  with  packages  of 
"gift"  candy,  each  parcel  of  which  contained  a 
present,  and  some  of  them  were  exceedingly  comi- 
cal. 

"  We  have  had  such  fun ! "  exclaimed  Mary. 
"  You  don't  know  what  you  have  missed  ! " 

But  Charlie  glanced  up  and  met  Kathie's  eyes 
with  a  look  that  seemed  to  understand  it  all;  and 
Miss  Jessie  said  afterward,  "  I  think  you  were  very 
good  to  keep  Miss  Weston's  table  such  a  long  while. 
I  did  n't  know  but  she  meant  to  spend  the  whole 
evening  in  the  kitchen." 

At  ten  o'clock  they  began  to  put  everything  in 
order  for  closing  up.  The  evening  had  been  a  won- 
derful success,  considering  that  it  was  the  first. 
Kathie  was  full  of  delight  and  excitement,  and  de- 
clared that  she  did  not  feel  a  bit  sleepy,  though  it 
was  after  eleven  when  she  went  to  her  room. 

The  sleepiness  came  the  next  morning.  Lessons 
were  rather  dull  work,  and  she  counted  the  moments 


72  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

eagerly  until  school  closed.  At  first  she  had  half  a 
mind  to  run  over  to  the  hall  to  see  how  matters  were 
progressing. 

"  But  then  it  will  be  so  much  gayer  this  evening," 
she  thought  to  herself,  "  and  I  must  study  my  lessons 
a  little." 

She  had  sufficient  courage  to  refuse  all  entreaties, 
and  walked  home  by  herself,  trying  to  recall  several 
subjects  on  which  she  had  not  been  very  perfect  to- 
day. Mrs.  Wilder  w^as  a  little  indulgent,  for  she 
knew  how  much  the  Fair  had  engrossed  their  atten- 
tion. 

The  house  was  very  quiet,  so  Kathie  studied  and 
had  a  good  long  music  practice  before  mamma  and 
Aunt  Euth  returned.  But  as  they  were  planning 
at  the  supper-table  Mrs.  Alston  said,  "I  would 
rather  not  have  you  go  to-night,  Kathie." 

"  0  mamma,  why  ? "  —  with  a  touch  of  entreaty 
in  her  voice. 

"  You  were  up  late  last  night,  and  you  will  want 
to  be  there  again  on  Wednesday  evening.  You 
certainly  need  a  little  rest  between." 

"  But  last  evening  was  like  —  lost  time  to  me,  or 
pretty  nearly.     I  stayed  at  Miss  Weston's  table  in  that 


LITTLE   STEPS   BY   THE  WAY.  73 

dull  comer  for  more  than  an  hour,  while  the  other 
girls  were  enjoying  themselves." 

"  Was  it  really  lost  time  ?  "  and  a  half-smile  crossed 
Mrs.  Alston's  face. 

KatSie  bethought  herself.  "I  suppose  it  ought 
not  to  have  been,  but  it  was  very  dull." 

"  Are  you  sorry  that  you  did  it  ? " 

"  Why,  no,"  —  in  a  tone  of  faint  surprise.  "  And 
yet  she  did  not  seem  very  much  obliged  to  me.  Not 
that  I  cared  so  much  for  the  thanks,"  —  rather  hastily. 

"I  was  glad  to  see  you  ^villing  to  give  up  that 
much  of  your  pleasure.  Miss  Weston  is  peculiar,  but 
she  was  very  ready  to  help  everybody  all  the  after- 
noon, and  had  her  pins,  scissors,  strings,  tacks,  and 
hammer  always  ready.     She  did  a  great  deal  of  work." 

"  But  what  a  pity  she  cannot  be  —  " 
•  "  Well,"  said  Uncle  Eobert,  filling  the  long  pause. 

"  A  little  more  gracious,  I  believe  I  was  going  to 
say,  or  not  quite  so  '  queer.'  " 

"  It  is  unfortunate,  when  Miss  Weston  is  so  good- 
hearted  in  the  main.  But  then  she  always  talks 
about  the  trouble  she  has  taken,  the  hard  work  she 
has  done,  and  really  dims  the  grace  of  her  kind 
deeds." 


74  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"I  came  very  near  doing  it  myseK,"  admitted 
Kathie,  quite  soberly. 

"  I  do  not  believe  Kathie  desired  any  extra  indul- 
gence to-night  because  she  gave  up  hers  last  even- 
ing," exclaimed  Uncle  Kobert,  with  that  namelessly 
appreciative  light  in  his  eyes. 

"  0  no,  do  not  think  that  of  me,  mamma,  only  I  should 
like  to  go  to-night.     All  the  girls  are  to  be  there." 

"  Three  nights'  dissipation  in  succession  is  rather 
too  much  for  a  little  girl,  unless  there  was  an  urgent 
necessity.  You  will  enjoy  Wednesday  evening  all 
the  better  for  having  had  a  rest." 

Kathie  entreated  no  further,  but  it  was  a  great  dis- 
appointment, the  more  so  because  it  had  come  so  un- 
expectedly. And  it  seemed  to  her  that  she  felt  rested 
and  bright  enough  to  keep  awake  until  midnight. 
She  had  studied  all  her  lessons  too. 

However,  she  kissed  her  mother  cheerfully.  Aunt 
Euth  was  tired,  and  did  not  mean  to  go  either. 

"You  might  put  me  to  bed,"  exclaimed  Freddy, 
lingering  in  the  sitting-room. 

Kathie  somehow  could  not  feel  generous  all  at 
once.  The  idea  of  nursing  her  disappointment  awhile 
looked  rather  tempting. 


LITTLE   STEPS   BY  THE   WAY.  75 

«  Wliy,  I  never  do  it  now,"  she  answered. 

«  No,  you  don't,"  —  considerably  aggrieved.  "  Nor 
ever  tell  me  stories,  either  !  And  it 's  so  lonesome 
since  Rob  went  to  school." 

Kathie  had  a  faint  consciousness  that  not  to  tliink 
of  herself  would  be  the  best  thing  she  could  do. 

"  And  you  never  told  me  about  the  Fair,  either  ! " 

"  Well,  run  up  to  bed,  and  I  will  come  presently," 
she  said,  in  her  bright,  pleasant  way. 

Freddy  kissed  Aunt  Euth  and  went  off  in  high 
feather.  It  was  quite  like  old  times  to  sit  beside 
him  and  talk,  and  Kathie  w^as  not  a  little  amused  by 
his  questions,  some  of  which  were  very  wise  for  a 
little  head,  and  others  utterly  absurd.  Then  came 
some  very  slow,  wandering  sentences,  and  Kathie 
knew  then  that  dusky-robed  Sleep  was  hovering  about 
the  wondering  brain  until  it  could  wonder  no  more. 

"  Good  night,"  —  with  a  soft  kiss. 

Aunt  Ruth  w^as  lying  on  the  lounge,  so  she  ran 
down  to  the  drawing-room  and  had  half  an  hour's 
study  over  some  "accidentals,"  that  had  tried  her 
patience  sorely  in  the  afternoon.  Delightful  and  all 
as  music  was,  how  much  hard  labor  and  persistence 
it  required ! 


76  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

But  by  and  by  she  could  play  the  troublesome 
part  with  her  eyes  shut,  counting  the  time  to  every 
note. 

"  Mr.  LawTence  cannot  find  any  fault  with  that ! " 
she  commented  inwardly. 

So  she  went  back  to  Aunt  Euth  in  a  very  sweet 
humor,  and,  drawing  an  ottoman  to  the  side  of  the 
lounge,  sat  do\vn  with  Aunt  Euth's  arm  around  her 
neck. 

The  room  looked  so  lovely  in  its  soft  light.  The 
shadowy  flowers  and  baskets  of  trailing  vines  in  the 
great  bay-window,  the  dusky  pictures  on  the  waU, 
and  the  crimson  tint  given  by  the  furniture.  It  was 
so  sweet  and  restful  that  Kathie  felt  like  having  a 
good  talk,  so  she  drew  a  long  breath  by  way  of  in- 
spiration. 

"  Aunt  Euth,"  she  said,  in  a  little  perplexity,  "  why 
is  it  that  a  person  is  not  always  willing  to  try  to 
do  right  first  of  all  ?  One  wishes  to  and  does  not  in 
the  same  breath." 

"  I  suppose  that  is  the  result  of  our  imperfect  na- 
tures ;  but  it  is  good  to  have  tke  desire  even." 

"  Yet  when  one  means  to  try  —  is  trying  —  will  it 
never  come  easy  ? " 


LITTLE   STEPS  BY  THE   WAY.  77 

"  Do  you  not  find  it  easier  than  you  did  two  years 
ago  ? " 

"  But  I  am  older,  and  have  more  judgment." 

"  And  a  stronger  will  on  the  wrong  side  as  well  as 
on  the  right,  beside  many  more  temptations." 

"  You  conquer  some  of  them,  though." 

"  Yet  with  every  new  state  of  life  others  spring  up. 
Life  is  a  continual  warfare." 

"  And  you  never  get  perfect ! " 

"  Never  in  this  life." 

"  It  is  discouraging,  —  is  n't  it,  Aunt  Paith  ? " 

"  Is  it  discouraging  to  eat  when  you  are  hungry  ? " 

"  Why,  no  ! "  —  with  a  little  laugh. 

"  It  seems  to  me  the  conditions  of  spiritual  life  are 
not  so  very  unlike  the  conditions  of  physical  life.  It 
is  step  by  step  in  both.  The  food  and  the  grace  are 
sufficient  for  the  day,  but  they  will  not  last  to-mor- 
row, or  for  a  month  to  come." 

"  Yet  the  grace  was  to  be  sufficient  always,"  Kathie 
said,  with  some  hesitation. 

"  And  have  you  proved  it  otherwise  ?  "  The  voice 
was  very  sweet,  and  Aunt  Kuth's  tone  almost  in- 
sensibly lured  to  confidence. 

"  But  what  troubles  me  is  —  that  little  thinirs  —  " 


78  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

and  Kathie's  voice  seemed  to  get  tangled  up  with 
emotion,  "  should  be  such  a  trial  sometimes.  Now  I 
can  understand  how  any  great  sacrifice  may  call  for 
a  great  effort ;  but  after  we  have  been  used  to  doing 
these  little  things  over  and  over  again  —  " 

"  One  becomes  rather  tired  of  making  the  effort ; 
and  it  is  just  here  where  so  many  people  who  mean 
to  be  good  go  astray.  They  leave  the  small  matters 
to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  aspire  to  something 
greater ;  so,  without  being  really  aware  of  it,  they  are 
impatient,  selfish,  thoughtless  for  others,  and  fall  into 
many  careless  ways.  Would  one  really  grand  action 
make  amends  for  all  ?  " 

"  No,  it  would  not,"  Kathie  answered,  reflectively. 

"  So  we  have  to  keep  a  watch  every  moment,  be 
fed  every  day  and  hour,  or  we  shall  hunger." 

Kathie  sighed  a  little.  Why  had  it  not  been  as 
easy  to  be  good  and  pleasant  to-night  as  some  other 
times  when  mamma  did  not  think  a  coveted  indul- 
gence necessary  ?  Yet  her  .perplexity  appeared  so 
trivial  that  she  hardly  had  the  courage  to  confess 
it  even  to  this  kind  listener. 

"You  took  the  right  step  to-night,  Kathie,"  said 
Aunt  Euth,  presently.     "  I  was  glad  to  see  you  do  it. 


LITTLE   STEPS   BY   THE   WAY.  79 

Brooding  over  any  real  or  fancied  burden  never 
lightens  it.  And  though  it  seems  a  rather  sharp 
remedy  in  the  midst  of  one's  pain  to  think  of  or 
help  some  other  person,  it  works  the  speediest 
cure." 

She  saw  that.  So  little  a  thing  as  entertaining 
Freddy  had  soothed  her  own  disappointment. 

"  But  I  ought  not  —  "  and  Kathie's  voice  trembled. 

"Stoicism  is  not  the  highest  courage,  little  one. 
And  God  does  n't  take  away  our  natural  feelings  when 
he  forgives  sin.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  sifting  and 
winnowing  left  for  us  to  do.  And  I  believe  God  is 
better  pleased  with  us  when  we  have  seen  the  danger, 
and  struggled  against  it,  than  if  it  had  not  touched 
us  at  all  The  rustle  of  the  leaves  seems  to  give 
promise  of  fruit." 

"  I  think  I  see,"  Kathie  answered,  slowly.  "  Tliere 
is  some  marching  as  well  as  all  battle." 

"  Yes  " ;  and  Aunt  Ruth  kissed  the  tremulous  scarlet 
lips. 

Kathie  was  so  soundly  asleep  that  she^'did  not  hear 
mamma  and  Uncle  Robert  come  home.  But  she  was 
bright  and  winsome  as  a  bird  the  next  morning. 


80  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 


CHAPTER   V. 

ONE   OF  THE   SIVIALL  DEEDS. 

Kathie's  lessons,  even  to  her  music,  were  perfect 
the  next  day.  Indeed,  Mr.  Lawrence  quite  compli- 
mented her. 

Mrs.  Alston  said,  "  Kathie,  if  you  would  like  to 
come  over  after  school  and  relieve  me  a  little  while, 
I  should  be  very  glad." 

So  Kathie  went  straight  from  school.  There  was 
quite  a  crowd  already.  Whole  families  had  come  in 
from  the  country,  farmers  with  their  wives  and  little 
ones.       * 

"  Wliat  taste  you  do  see  displayed  ! "  Lottie  re- 
marked, sauntering  to  Kathie's  vicinity.  "  Look  at 
that  woman's  shawl  with  a  yellow  centre.  Is  n't  it 
hideously  ugly?  And  that  purple  bonnet  with  red 
flowers !  Why  did  n't  she  put  blue,  by  way  of  con- 
trast?" 

The  wearer  of  the  purple  bonnet  glanced  at  the  two 
girls  "svith  a  flushed  and   rather  indignant   face,  — 


m  S  i 


AT  THE  FAIK.     Page  80. 


ONE   OF   THE   SMALL   DEEDS.  81 

a  hard-featui'ed  countrywoman,  neither  young  nor 
pretty. 

"  0  don't,"  whispered  Kathie.     ^  She  heard  you." 

"  As  if  I  cared  !  Any  person  who  outrages  taste 
in  that  manner  is  a  fit  subject  for  criticism.  How 
hoiTidly  that  gored  skirt  hangs  !  Home-made  to  the 
last  thread.  If  I  could  n't  have  a  dressmaker  I  would 
not  have  any  new  dresses." 

Kathie  was  feeling  quite  distressed.  She  disliked 
to  have  Lottie  to  stand  here  and  make  remarks  on 
every  one  who  passed  by. 

"  How  do  you  make  them  'ere  tilings  ?  "  inquired  a 
coarse  but  fresh  young  voice  at  her  side. 

Lottie  tittered,  and  put  her  handkerchief  to  her 
face. 

"  What  ? "  asked  Kathie,  in  great  confusion, 

"  These  'ere,"  pointing  to  some  very  pretty  moss 
and  lichen  brackets. 

"  The  moss  is  fastened  to  a  piece  of  wood  just  the 
right  shape,  —  like  this  "  ;  and  she  turned  the  bracket 
round. 

"  Pasted  on  ? " 

"  You  could  use  paste  or  glue,  —  anything  that 
adheres  quickly." 

6 


82  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  Adheres  ? "  —  with  a  kind  of  wondering  stare. 

*'  Sticks ! "  exclaimed  Lottie,  in  a  peculiar  tone. 

"  I  was  n't  talking  to  you,"  said  the  girl,  rather  gruffly. 

Lottie  tossed  her  head  with  a  world  of  scorn,  and 
moved  a  little  lower  down  to  speak  to  some  stylish 
friends  that  she  saw  coming. 

"  Thinks  she  's  dre'dful  fine  ! "  continued  the  girl. 
"  You  find  them  things  in  the  woods.  I  have  lots  of 
*em,  but  I  never  thought  o'  puttin'  them  up  any- 
wheres. I  've  some  a  good  deal  bigger  'n  any  you 
have  here." 

She  was  referring  to  the  lichens  now. 

"  They  must  be  very  fine,"  said  Kathie. 

"  Some  of  'em  are  pinky,  and  all  streaked,  in  rows 
like  this.  Don't  you  s'pose  I  could  put  'em  up  ? 
And  I  know  Jim  'd  make  me  some  fine  things  to 
stick  the  moss  on.  He  's  powerful  handy  with  tools. 
Means  to  be  a  carpenter." 

She  was  a  nice,  wholesome-looking  girl  of  fifteen 
or  thereabout.  Kathie  wished  that  she  dared  to  cor- 
rect her  words  and  sentences  a  little. 

"  You  might  make  your  parlor  or  y6ur  own  room 
look  very  pretty  with  some  of  these  adornments,"  she 
remarked,  with  quiet  interest. 


ONE   OF   THE   SMALL  DEEDS.  83 

"  The  youngsters  would  soon  smash  'em  up  in  my 
room,"  slie  said,  with  rough  good  -  nature  ;  "  but 
ma'am  will  let  me  fix  up  the  parlor,  I  know.  And 
if  you  'd  only  tell  me  —  "  The  girl  wriggled  around 
with  painful  hesitation. 

"  Well  ?  "  Katliie  went  on,  encouragingly. 

"  About  them  'ere  frames  that  look  like  straw." 

"  They  are  straw." 

"  There,  I  was  sure  of  it !  Ain't  they  han'some  ! 
Do  you  know  how  to  make  'em  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  S'pose  you  would  n't  like  to  tell  me  ? "  —  bash- 
fully. 

"  Why,  yes,"  answered  Kathie,  smiling.  "  First, 
you  find  some  nice,  long  pieces  of  straw  that  are 
smooth  and  round,  and,  holding  them  together  this 
way,  —  four  or  five  or  six,  as  wide  as  you  want  your 
frame,  —  sew  them  backwards  and  forwards  with  a 
fine  needle  and  cotton.  Wlien  you  have  made  your 
four  pieces  cross  them  so,  and  fasten  them  through 
on  the  pictures  at  the  corner.  Then  you  tie  a  little 
bow  over  the  sewing," 

"  Well,  now,  it  is  n't  hard,  after  all !  I  mean  to 
make  some.    What 's  the  price  of  that  ? " 


84  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  Fifty  cents." 

"  I  mean  to  have  one  of  'em.  I  '11  hunt  up  mother 
and  come  back."  With  that  the  girl  dashed  into  the 
crowd. 

"  Profitable  customer ! "  sneered  Lottie. 

Just  then  there  was  a  rush  to  the  table,  and  Ka- 
thie  was  kept  very  busy  for  ten  minutes  or  so,  while 
Lottie  went  over  to  ]\Ir3.  Wilder's  table  and  began  to 
"  take  off  "  Kathie's  young  woman,  as  she  called  her. 
It  sounded  very  funny  to  the  group  of  girls,  exagger- 
ated a  little  by  Lottie's  love  of  a  good  story. 

Half  an  hour  afterwards,  when  Kathie  had  almost 
forgotten,  the  girl  came  dragging  her  mother  rather 
um\n'1h'ngiy  up  to  the  table. 

"  Here  she  is  1  I  've  made  her  come,  though  she 
said  fust  she  would  n't.  But  you  was  so  real  sweet 
to  me  that  I  could  n't  give  it  up." 

Kathie  recognized  the  identical  purple  bonnet  and 
dull  red  roses,  and  she  flushed  a  little  at  the  woman's 
sharp  scrutiny. 

"You  ain't  the  one  that  laughed  awhile  ago," 
she  said,  the  features  relaxing  a  little.  "City  gals 
may  think  themselves  a  heap  finer  than  country  folk, 
but  I  can  see  bad  manners  as  quick  as  the  next  one." 


ONE  OF  THE  SMALL  DEEDS.  85 

'•  I  was  very  sorry  for  it/'  exclaimed  Kathie,  in  a 
low  tone. 

"  Then  my  gal  would  n't  give  me  any  peace  till  I 
come  back  "  —  ap^^arently  much  mollified.  "  Now, 
Sary  Ann,  where  's  the  picter  you  want  ?  " 

"  0,  they  're  all  so  heio-tiiul  I "  exclaimed  the  girl. 
"  And  I  know  I  *  can  make  the  frames  after  I  go 
home.  Look  at  this  'ere  cross  and  this  basket  of 
flowers,  and  these  roses  !     0  dear  ! "  —  in  despair. 

"  She  's  so  fond  o'  flowers,  —  is  Sary  Ann.  She  's 
had  the  beautifuUest  garden  this  summer  that  you 
ever  see.  Well,  Sary  Ann  ?  I  'd  take  the  basket  of 
flowers." 

"  But  the  cross  ! "  exclaimed  the  girl,  longingly. 

They  looked  them  over  while  Kathie  w^ent  to  wait 
upon  another  customer. 

"  I  've  concluded  to  get  'em  both  for  her,"  an- 
nounced the  woman.  "  Sary  Ann  's  a  real  good  girl, 
and  a  powerful  sight  o'  help  to  me.  There  's  six 
younger  'n  she,  and  Jim  older ;  but  boys  can't  do 
much  about  a  house." 

Kathie  did  up  the  pictures  with  a  little  sensation 
of  triumph. 

"  0  mother,  look  what  a  pretty  baby's  cap  !     Would 


86  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

n't  it  be  sweet  for  Lily,  and  you  promised  to  buy  her 
one  the  fust  time  you  went' to  town." 

"  She  would  have  the  baby  called  Lily,"  said  the 
woman,  as  if  in  apology.  "What  's  the  price  of 
this  ? " 

"  Two  dollars  and  a  haK." 

"  0,  that 's  too  dear." 

"  We  have  cheaper  ones." 

"  But  this  is  such  a  beauty,"  said  Sary  Ann. 

"  I  crocheted  it  myself,"  Kathie  returned,  quietly. 

"  0  mother,  I  'd  like  to  have  something  she  's 
done  her  own  very  self!  Did  you  make  the 
frames  ? " 

"  No,  my  aunt  did  those,  but  I  know  how,"  —  wdth 
a  sweet  smile. 

After  a  good  deal  of  talking  they  concluded  to 
take  the  cap  ;  then  Sary  Ann  wanted  a  pretty  white 
apron  for  the  "  patron  "  of  it,  she  declared. 

"  Xonsense  ! "  said  her  mother. 

But  Sary  Ann  carried  the  day,  and  after^^ard  she 
found  something  else. 

Altogether  the  bill  amounted  to  seven  dollars  and 
sixty-four  cents.  Xot  so  bad,  after  all.  The  woman 
paid  it  without  a  bit  of  grumliling. 


ONE   OF   THE   SMALL   DEEDS.  87 

"  It 's  a  good  cause,"  she  said.  "  I  often  think  of 
tlie  poor  fellows  out  there,"  nodding  her  head  ;  "  and 
sence  the  Lord  gives  'em  strength  and  courage  to  go, 
we  ought  to  do  something  besides  prayin'  for  'em. 
My  old  man  he  put  up  a  lot  of  turkeys  an'  chickens, 
an'  apples  and  onions,  an'  sez  he,  *  Though  we  ain't 
any  children  out  there,  we  've  neighbors  and  friends, 
and  every  chap  among  the  lot  deserves  a  Thanksgiv- 
ing dinner.' " 

Kathie  forgot  all  about  the  red  and  purple,  think- 
ing of  the  red,  white,  and  blue,  and  of  the  tender 
place  in  this  woman's  heart 

"  I  want  to  give  you  a  little  picture  to  frame,"  she 
said  to  "  Sary  Ann  "  ;  "  it  will  help  you  to  remember 
me,  as  well  as  the  cause." 

It  was  a  pretty  colored  photograph  of  two  chil- 
dren, —  "  The  Keconciliation." 

The  girl  was  so  delighted  that  the  quick  tears  sprang 
to  her  eyes.  "  There 's  no  fear  of  my  forgetting  you," 
she  declared,  warmly.     "  I  've  had  a  splendid  time  ! " 

Kathie  opened  her  portmonnaie  and  dropped  the 
quarter  in  the  drawer.  Her  mother  had  taught  her 
to  be  scrupulously  honest  about  such  matters,  and 
she  wanted  the  gift  to  be  altogether  hers. 


88  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

It  was  getting  quite  dusky  now.  Uncle  Robert 
had  brought  Mrs.  Alston  over  in  the  pony-carriage, 
and  was  to  take  Kathie  back,  "  to  smooth  her  ruf- 
fled plumes,"  the  child  said;  for  the  knot  of  girls 
around  Emma  Lauriston  had  been  discussing  what 
they  would  wear. 

"  There  '11  be  a  great  jam  here  to-night,"  said  one. 
''Everybody  will  turn  out,  and  I  want  to  look  as 
pretty  as  possible." 

Kathie  had  begun  to  have  some  rather  trouble- 
some thoughts  on  the  subject  of  dress.  The  larger 
girls  at  school  talked  considerably  of  the  fashions. 
She  realized  her  own  position  much  better  than  she 
had  a  year  ago,  and  knew  that  a  certain  style  was 
expected  of  her.-  She  hated  to  be  considered  mean 
or  shabby,  or,  worst  of  all,  deficient  in  taste  ;  yet  how 
much  of  it  was  right  ?  Need  it  occupy  all  one's 
time  and  one's  desires  ? 

She  felt  very  strongly  inclined  to  make  herself 
"  gorgeous  "  to-night,  as  Rob  would  have  phrased  it ; 
yet  the  only  ornament  she  indulged  in  was  a  little 
cluster  of  flowers  at  her  throat. 

A  jam  it  was,  sure  enough.  Everybody  had  to 
look  half  a  dozen  ways  at  once.      The  hum  of  the 


ONE   OF  THE   SMALL  DEEDS.  89 

laughing  and  talking  almost  drowned  the  music.  By 
nine  o'clock  some  of  the  tables  began  to  wear  a  rather 
forlorn  aspect,  and  two  or  three  "shut  up  shop," 
having  been  entirely  sold  out. 

Miss  Weston's  luck  appeared  less  brilliant  than 
that  of  many  others. 

"  I  wish  you  could  take  some  one  there  who  would 
buy  ever  so  many  things,"  Kathie  said  to  Uncle 
Robert ;  "  I  am  afraid  she  is  feeling  a  good  deal 
discouraged." 

He  smiled  at  the  thoughtfulness,  but  made  no 
inmiediate  reply.  Only  Kathie  noticed  his  stand- 
ing there  a  considerable  length  of  time. 

When  he  came  back  to  her  he  said,  softly,  "  Ka- 
thie, will  you  not  come  and  keep  her  table  for  a 
little  while  ?  I  want  to  take  her  to  the  supper-room 
for  some  refreshments." 

Kathie  gave  him  a  rather  beseeching  look. 

"  I  '11  be  sure  and  not  let  her  spend  more  than 
fifteen  minutes.  After  that  we  will  have  a  gay 
promenade." 

Was  it  selfish  not  to  want  to  stay  here  ?  Yet 
Kathie  put  on  her  most  attractive  smiles  and  actu- 
ally sold  several  articles  while  Miss  Weston  was  gone. 


90  'KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

Then,  hunting  up  Emma  Lauriston,  they  set  out  on 
a  tour,  Uncle  Eobert  said.  Th*ey  went  to  the  Dutch 
kitchen,  where  Miss  Jessie  was  one  of  the  "young 
ladies  "  to-night ;  and  very  pretty  she  looked,  though 
Uncle  Robert  insisted  that  she  could  not  talk  a  word 
of  Dutch.  They  had  cream  afterward,  candy,  nuts, 
and  fruit,  until  it  appeared  to  Kathie  that  she  had 
eaten  enough  to  last  a  week 

There  had  been  a  discussion  at  first  about  continu- 
ing the  Fair  on  Thanksgi\dng  day,  but,  as  the  articles 
were  so  nearly  sold  out,  it  was  decided  to  have  an 
auction.  That  made  great  fun  indeed.  By. eleven 
o'clock  the  tables  were  emptied,  and  the  refreshments 
reduced  to  a  rather  fragmentary  state.  The  crowd, 
too,  began  to  thin  out. 

Such  a  hunting  for  baskets  and  hampers  and  boxes 
of  every  description,  such  a  hurrying  and  scurrying 
and  confusion  of  voices,  was  seldom  witnessed  in 
quiet  Brookside.  In  the  crowd  Kathie  ran  over 
Lottie. 

"  O  dear ! "  the  latter  exclaimed,  fretfully,  "  are  n't 
you  half  tired  to  death,  Kathie  Alston  ?  I  've  ruined 
my  dress  too,  — -  this  lovely  blue  silk !  I  am  sure  I 
don't  know  what  ma  will  say.     Some  one  trod  on  it. 


ONE   OF   THE   SMALL   DEEDS.  91 

as  I  was  sitting  down,  and  tore  off  the  trimming, 
and  that  clumsy  Harry  Cox  spilled  lemonade  on  me. 
Children  ought  not  to  be  allowed  in  such  places,  espe- 
cially boys  who  do  not  know  how  to  behave ! "  and 
slie  uttered  tliis  with  a  great  deal  of  emphasis.  "  And 
I  've  lost  one  of  my  new  kid  gloves.  They  were  sucli 
a  lovely  shade.  There  is  nothing  in  Brookside  like 
them  ! 

"  She  ought  to  have  known  better  than  to  dress  in 
sucli  state,  as  if  she  was  going  to  a  party,"  whispered 
Emma  Lauriston,  "  I  am  cream  and  pie  and  cake- 
crumbs,  and  goodness  only  knows  what,  and  devoutly 
thankful  that  I  shall  not  have  to  go  to  school  to-mor- 
row. But  it  has  been  a  success.  i\Irs.  Wilder  made 
one  hundred  and  forty  dollars  at  her  table, —  our 
table,"  with  a  laugh. 

"  And  mamma  has  made  nearly  two  hundred." 

"  I  long  to  hear  the  aggregate." 

"  It  will  not  be  less  than  two  thousand,"  exclaimed 
Uncle  Eobert,  trjdng  to  open  a  path  for  the  girls. 

Kathie  was  very  tired  when  she  reached  home,  and 
with  a  good-night  kiss  ran  off  to  her  own  room, 
where  she  fell  asleep  with  a  strange  jumble  of  ideas 
in  her  head. 


92  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

Two  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  dollars 
for  the  widows  and  orphans  when  all  expenses  were 
paid.  Everybody  felt  very  well  satisfied,  and,  after  a 
good  Thanksgiving  dinner,  affairs  at  Brookside  rolled 
on  as  calmly  as  before. 

Except,  perhaps,  that  there  were  more  anxious 
hearts.  General  Sherman  was  sweeping  on  to  the  sea, 
and  brave  Sheridan  was  carrying  consternation  to  the 
heart  of  the  enemy  by  his  dariQg  raids.  Grant  was 
drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  Eiclunond,  but  there 
would  be  some  pretty  hard  work  at  the  last,  every 
one  thought. 

Some  days  afterward  Kathie  finished  a  letter  to 
Mr.  IMeredith,  giving  him  a  glowing  account  of  their 
labors  at  home. 

"  If  he  could  come  back  to  keep  Christmas  with 
us ! "  Kathie  said,  longingly.  "  And  dear  Eob  —  and 
O,  the  hundreds  more  who  are  away  from  pleasant 
firesides ! " 

Uncle  Eobert  decided  to  pay  Eob  a  Christmas 
visit,  and  they  concluded  to  pack  a  small  box  to 
send.  He  was  so  fond  of  "goodies"  that  Kathie 
tried  her  hand  at  some  of  the  Fair  recipes  and  had 
excellent  success.     A  few  new  articles  were  needed 


ONE   OF   THE   SMALL   DEEDS.  93 

for  eveiy-day  use,  but  these  comprised  only  a  very 
small  share.     . 

"  He  will  have  quite  a  feast,"  Kathie  said,  delight- 
edly. "  And  there  is  not  much  fear  of  Eob  being 
like  Harry  in  the  story." 

Uncle  Eobert  would  be  back  by  Christmas.  They 
had  planned  to  have  a  tree  again,  but  Kathia 
declared  that  she  could  not  think  of  a  single  thing 
she  needed.  She  was  quite  busy  with  various  other 
little  matters,  however,  that  required  strict  seclusion 
in  her  own  room. 

How  different  it  was  from  last  year !  She  and 
Aunt  Euth  talked  it  over,  — the  waiting,  the  disap- 
pointment, and  the  sacrifice  that  after  all  had  ended 
so  happily. 

"  It  seemed  as  if  everything  must  have  happened 
then,  and  that  there  would  be  nothing  left  for  this 
year,"  she  said. 

Uncle  Robert  brought  most  satisfactory  accounts 
from  his  nephew.  Rob  was  well,  contented  and 
happy,  and  growing  tall  in  an  astonishing  manner. 
He  sent  oceans  of  love  and  thanks  to  everybody,  and 
wished  that  he  could  come  home  and  see  them. 
"And  here  is  a  letter  for  you,"  said  Kathie,  taking 


94  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

it  from  the  rack  on  his  desk.  "  It  is  from  Mr.  !Mere- 
dith.  See  if  he  is  not  going  to  surprise  us.  The 
ninety  days  will  soon  be  ended." 

Uncle  Eobert  sat  before  the  grate  fire,  sunning 
himself  in  the  cheerful  glow,  but  Kathie  remarked 
that  his  face  grew  very  grave. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  she  asked,  anxiously.  "  He  is  not 
sick,  or  —  " 

"  He  is  well.     You  may  read  this." 

He  folded  down  a  little  slip  at  the  top  and  handed 
the  letter  to  the  child,  who  read  :  — 

"  Tell  Kathie  that  I  have  seen  General  Mackenzie, 
her  hero  of  last  winter,  and  that  he  was  delighted  to 
have  some  tidings  of  her.  And  that  during  the  last 
fortnight  my  ideas  and  sphere  of  duty  seem  to  have 
enlarged.  I  think  she  ^^dll  approve  of  my  decision,  — 
my  brave  little  Captain  who  stood  by  her  colors  so 
nobly  last  winter,  and  preferred  to  minister  to  her 
suffering  aunt  rather  than  share  the  most  tempting 
pleasures.  So  I  shall  give  up  my  own  comfort  and 
idleness  awhile  longer,  and  stand  by  the  dear  country 
that  needs  every  man  in  this  last  great  struggle." 

"  Oh  ! "  with  a  tender  little  cry.  "  He  is  not  com- 
ing home  ! " 


ONE  OF  THE   SMALL  DEEDS.  95 

**  No.  He  has  resolved  to  stay  and  see  the  war 
through,"  was  the  grave  reply. 

Kathie  looked  into  the  glowing  foe.  It  was  very 
brave  and  noble  in  him  for  he  did  not  like  mili- 
tary life  under  the  auspices  in  which  he  was  see- 
ing it. 

"  There  is  a  little  more,"  Uncle  Eobert  said. 

The  "  little  more  "  brought  the  tears  to  her  eyes. 
She  stooped  and  laid  her  head  on  Uncle  Eobert's 
shoulder,  nestling  her  face  in  the  corner  by  his  curly 
beard. 

"  He  thinks  —  it  will  be  —  all  right  with  him," 
she  whispered,  tremulously,  a  little  sob  quivering  in 
her  voice. 

"Living  or  dying,"  returned  Uncle  Eobert,  sol- 
emnly. "My  darling,  I  am  very  grateful  for  your 
share  in  the  work.'  It  seems  to  me  that  Mr.  Mere- 
dith is  capable  of  something  really  grand  if  he  can 
once  be  roused  to  a  sense  of  the  responsibility  and 
preciousness  of  life.  There  is  so  much  for  every  one 
to  do." 

"  But  it  does  n't  seem  as  if  I  did  anything." 

"No  act  is  without  some  result,  my  dear  child, 
when  we  think  that  it  must  all  bear  fruit,  and  that 


96  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

we  shall  see  the  result  in  the  other  country,  whether 
it  be  brambles  or  leaves  or  fruit ;  and  we  cannot  bear 
fruit  except  we  abide  in  the  Master." 

It  seemed  to  Kathie,  cliild  as  she  was,  that  she  had 
a  blessed  glimpse  of  the  light  and  the  work,  the  inter- 
est and  sympathy,  the  prayers  and  earnest  endeavor, 
which  were  to  go  side  by  side  with  the  Master's. 
A  warm,  vivifying  glow  sped  through  every  pulse. 
Was  tliis  the  love  of  God, — the  grace  which  was 
promised  to  well-doing  ?  She  hardly  dared  believe, 
it  was  so  solemnly  sweet  and  comfortiag,  —  too  good 
for  her,  she  almost  thought. 

"You  see,  little  one,  that  He  puts  work  for  us 
everywhere,  that  his  love  and  presence  is  beside 
it  always.  We  may  wait  a  long  while  for  the  re- 
sult, yet  it  is  sure.  And  we  need  not  be  sparing 
of  our  seed  ;  the  heavenly  storehouse  is  forever  open 
to  us.  He  is  always  more  ready  to  give  than  we  to 
receive." 

"  0  Uncle  Eobert !  I  am  so  glad  for  —  for  Mr. 
Meredith.  It  seems  as  if  I  could  n't  take  it  aU  in  at 
once ! "  and  both  of  Kathie' s  arms  were  around  his 
neck,  her  soft,  rosy  cheek,  wet  with  tears,  pressed 
against  his. 


ONE  OF  THE  SMaLL  DEEDS.  97 

"It  is  something  to  think  of  for  all  time,  my 
darling." 

"  Uncle  Robert,"  she  said,  after  a  long,  thoughtful 
pause,  in  which  she  appeared  to  have  glimpses  of  the 
life  stretching  out  before  her,  and  leading  to  tlie  gate 
of  the  other  country,  "  I  used  to  wish  that  I  could 
]^ave  —  religion — myself,  like  mamma  and  Aunt 
Ruth  —  " 

"  My  little  Kathie,  the  '  kingdom  of  heaven '  is 
within  you.  We  have  only  to  do  His  will,  and  we 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine.  That  is  the  grand  secret 
of  it  alL" 


98  KATHIE'S  SOLDIEBS. 


CHAPTEE   VI. ^ 

GIVING  AND  RECEIVING. 

KA.THIE  had  begged,  instead  of  having  anything 
grand  herself,  that  she  might  be  allowed  to  play- 
Santa  Glaus.  To  be  sure,  there  were  gifts  to  the 
Morrisons,  to  Lucy  and  Annie  Gardiner,  and  sev- 
eral of  her  olden  schoolmates,  but  that  was  not 
quite  it. 

"  I  mean  the  highways  and  byways,"  she  said  to 
her  mother ;  "  some  of  the  poor  people  wtio  really 
have  no  Christmas." 

They  made  out  quite  a  list,  —  three  or  four 
widows  with  little  children,  some  old  women,  and 
several  homes  in  which  there  was  sickness.  Aunt 
Ruth  fashioned  some  garments, —  Kathie  buying  the 
material  out  of  her  Fortunatus's  purse ;  two  or  three 
good  warm  shawls  had  been  provided,  and  different 
packages  of  provisions,  some  positive  luxuries.  They 
stood  in  a  great  pile  at  the  lower  end  of  the  haU, 
all  ready  for  distribution. 


GIVING  AND  RECEIVING.  99 

"  If  you  were  not  too  tired  —  "  Kathie  said,  after 
supper. 

"  I  am  not  utterly  worn  out,"  and  Uncle  Robert 
sraHed  a  littl  J^  "  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  I  wish  you  and  I  could  go  out  with  the  gifts, 
instead  of  Mr.  Morrison." 

"  Why  not,  to  be  sure  ? "  reading  the  wistful  glance 
in  the  soft  eyes. 

"  It  would  be  so  delightful.  And  as  we  are  not  to 
have  our  Christmas  until  to-morrow  —  " 

"  Bundle  up  then,  for  it  is  pretty  sharp  out.  I 
will  go  and  order  the  horses." 

It  was  so  easy  to  ride  around  and  dispense  benefits 
that  Kathie  almost  wondered  if  there  was  any  real 
merit  in  it. 

"  My  little  girl,"  Uncle  Robert  said,  "  you  must  not 
begin  to  think  that  there  can  be  no  religion  without 
sacrifice.  God  gives  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy, 
and  it  would  be  ungrateful  if  we  did  not  accept  the 
good,  the  joy." 

All  things.  As  they  hurried  softly  on,  the  roads 
being  covered  with  a  light  fall  of  snow,  she  drank  in 
the  beauty  around  her,  —  a  glimmer  of  silvery  moon- 
light flooding  the  open  spaces,  the  shadowy  thickets 


100  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

of  evergreens,  whose  crisp  clustering  spines  were 
stirred  dreamily  with  the  slow  wind,  making  a  dim 
and  heavenly  music,  as  if  even  now  it  might  lead 
kings  and  shepherds  to  the  place  where  the  Christ 
Child  had  been  born,  the  myriad  of  stars  overhead  in 
that  blue,  spacious  vault,  and  the  heaven  above  it  all. 
And  thinking  of  the  distant  plains  of  Judsea  brought 
her  to  the  plains  nearer  home,  —  the  broad  fields  of 
Virginia  dotted  with  its  camps  and  tents,  and  brist- 
ling with  forts.  Thousands  of  men  were  there, 
keeping  Christmas  eve,  and  among  them  Mr.  Mere- 
dith. How  many  beside  him  saw  the  star  and  came 
to  worsliip  the  Saviour ! 

She  felt  the  living  Presence  in  the  awe  of  this 
hush  and  beauty.  Her  child's  soul  was  hovering  on 
the  point  of  girlhood,  to  open  into  something  rare 
and  precious,  perhaps,  having  greater  opportunities 
than  many  others.  She  was  not  so  fearful  or  doubt- 
ing as  she  had  been  an  hour  ago,  for  it  seemed  to  her 
now  that  she  had  only  to  go  forward. 

They  paused  first  at  a  little  tumble-down  cottage. 
There  were  seven  people  housed  in  it,  —  the  old 
folks,  Mrs.  Maybin,  whose  husband  liad  gone  to  the 
war,  and  four  children.    Mrs.  Maybin  went  out  wash- 


GIVING  AND  RECEIVING.  101 

ing  and  house-cleaning.  Jane,  the  eldest  daughter, 
thirteen,  worked  in  the  paper-mill. 

Uncle  Eobert  looked  at  the  label  by  moonlight. 
"  I  '11  just  put  it  down  on  the  door-step  and  knock," 
he  said.     "  You  hold  the  ponies." 

The  knock  made  Kathie's  own  heart  beat.  Uncle 
Eobert  ran  back  to  the  carriage,  which  stood  in  the 
shade  of  a  great  black-walnut  tree. 

Kathie  leaned  over.  Jane  Maybin  came  to  the 
door,  lamp  in  hand,  and  looked  around  w^onderingly. 
Then,  spying  the  great  bundle,  she  cried,  loudly,  "  0 
mother,  come  here,  quick ! " 

The  ponies  wore  no  bells  to-night,  so  they  drove 
off  noiselessly,  a  peculiar  smile  illuminating  Kathie's 
face.  If  the  Maybins  thought  their  good  fortune 
rained  down  from  heaven,  so  much  the  better.  The 
child  was  always  a  Little  shy  of  her  good  deeds,  a 
rare  and  exquisite  humility  being  one  of  her  virtues. 
And  though  any  little  act  of  ingratitude  touched  her 
to  the  quick,  she  never  wxnt  about  seeking  praise. 

A  dozen  homes  made  glad  by  unexpected  gifts, 
and  three  times  that  number  of  hearts.  In  several 
instances  they  had  difiicult  work  to  escape  detec- 
tion, but  that  added   to  the  fun  and  interest  of  it. 


102  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Kathie  declared ;  and  she  came  home  in  a  bright, 
beautiful  glow,  her  cheeks  glowing  with  a  winter- 
rose  tint,  and  her  pretty  mouth  smiling  in  a  more 
regal  scarlet  than  the  holly  berries  nodding  their  wise 
little  heads  above  picture-frames. 

Aunt  Kuth  kissed  her  quietly.  It  seemed  as  if 
she  understood  the  steps  in  the  new  life  which  the 
child  was  taking,  and  knew  by  experience  that  silent 
ways  were  sometimes  the  most  pleasant. 

Of  all  Kathie's  Christmas  remembrances  —  and 
even  Dr.  Markham  sent  her  a  beautiful  gift  —  there 
was  one  so  unexpected  and  so  touching  that  it 
brought  the  tears  to  her  eyes.  She  was  running 
through  the  hall  just  before  church-time,  when  the 
door-bell  rang ;  the  Alstons  did  not  consider  it 
necessary  that  Hannah  should  always  be  summoned 
from  her  duties  to  attend  the  call,  so  Kathie  opened 
the  door. 

A  stout,  country-looking  lad,  just  merging  into 
awkward  young-manhood,  with  a  great  shock  of 
curly,  chestnut-colored  hair,  and  a  very  wide  mouth, 
stood  with  a  parcel  in  his  hand. 

"I  want  to  see  Miss  Kathie  Alston,"  he  said, 
blushing  as  red  as  a  peony. 


GIVINQ  AND  RECEIVINO.  103 

"  I  am  the  person,"  she  answered,  simply. 

He  stared  in  surprise,  opening  his  mouth  until 
there  seemed  nothing  but  two  rows  of  white,  strong 
teeth. 

"Miss — Kathie  —  Alston?"  in  a  kind  of  aston- 
ished deliberation. 

«  Yes." 

"I  was  to  give  this  to  you.  She,"  nodding  to 
some  imaginary  person,  "  told  me  to  be  sure  to  put 
it  into  your  hands  for  fear.  She  thought  you  'd 
like  it." 

"Who  is  she?"  and  Kathie  could  not  forbear 
smiling. 

"  She  writ  a  letter  so  's  you  'd  know.  That 's  all 
she  said,  only  to  ask  if  you  were  well ;  but  you  look 
jest  like  —  a  picter." 

The  compliment  was  so  honest  and  so  involuntary 
that  Kathie  bowed,  her  bright  face  flushing. 

He  ran  down  the  steps  and  sprang  into  a  common 
country  sleigh,  driving  off  in  a  great  hurry. 

There  was  a  letter  attached  to  the  parcel.  She  tore 
off  the  wrapping  of  the  package  first,  however,  and 
found  that  it  had  been  done  up  with  great  care.  In- 
side of  all,  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  lichen  she 


104  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

had  ever  seen,  —  a  perfect  bracket  in  itself.  The 
rings  of  coloring  were  exquisite.  The  soft  woody 
browns,  the  bright  sienna,  the  silvery  drab  and  pink, 
like  the  inside  of  a  sea-shell.  The  vegetation  was  so 
rank  that  it  resembled  the  pile  of  velvet 

Like  a  flash  a  consciousness  came  over  her,  and 
although  she  heard  Aunt  Euth's  voice,  she  could  not 
resist  the  desire  to  look  at  her  letter. 

A  coarse,  irregular  hand,  with  several  erasures  and 
blotted  words,  but  the  name  at  the  bottom  —  Sarah 
Ann  Strong — made  it  aU  plain.  The'Sary  Ann  of 
the  Soldiers'  Fair.  Kathie's  heart  gave  a  great 
bound. 

'^  Come ! "  exclaimed  Uncle  Bobert ;  "  are  you 
ready?" 

There  was  no  time  for  explanations.  She  laid 
the  letter  and  parcel  in  her  drawer  in  the  great 
bookcase,  thrust  her  ungloved  hands  into  her  muff, 
and  ran  out  to  Aunt  Euth,  who  stood  on  the  step, 
waiting  to  be  assisted  into  the  carriage. 

"  Was  it  some  more  Christmas  ? "  asked  Uncle 
Eobert,  "  or  is  it  a  secret  ?  " 

"  It  is  no  secret,  but  a  very  odd  circimistance,  and 
has  quite  a  story  connected  with  it.     I  think  I  wiU 


GIVING   AND   RECEIVING.  1U5 

wait  until  we  get  home,"  she  continued,  slowly,  re- 
membering how  short  the  distance  was  to  church, 
and  that  a  break  in  the  narrative  would  spoil  it. 

But  she  had  very  hard  work  to  keep  her  mind  from 
wandering  during  the  service,  she  wondered  so  what 
Sarah  had  to  say,  and  how  she  cftme  to  remember  the 
simple  talk  about  the  bmckets.  And  was  Sarah 
having  a  bright  Christmas  ? 

Afterward  she  told  her  small  audience,  beginning 
with  the  unlucky  remarks  about  the  purple  bonnet. 
Uncle  Eobert  admired  the  lichen  very  much,  and 
Aunt  Ruth  declared  that  she  had  never  seen  its  equal 

Then  came  Sarah's  letter.  What  pains  and  trou- 
ble and  copying  it  had  cost  the  poor  girl  Kathie 
would  never  know, 

"  To  Miss  Kathie  Alston,"  it  began.  "  I  take  my 
pen  in  hand  to  let  you  know  that "  —  here  were  two 
or  three  words  crossed  out  —  "I  want  to  send  you  a 
cristmas  present.  I  haint  forgot  about  the  fair,  and 
how  good  you  was  to  me.  I  made  some  straw  frames 
and  they  're  real  hansum,  and  I  put  the  picture  you 
give  me  in  one  and  it  hangs  up  in  the  parlor,  and 
I  've  got  some  brackets,  but  Jim  found  this  splendid 
one,  and  I  want  to  send  it  to  you  for  cristmas,  for  I 


106  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

don't  think  you  have  forgotten  all  about  me.  I  've 
been  going  to  school  a  Httle  this  winter  again,  for 
Martha  is  big  enough  to  help  mother  and  i  only  stay 
home  to  wash.  I  always  remember  how  beautiful 
you  talked  and  my  teacher  says  its  grammar  which 
I  'm  studying,  but  i  cant  make  head  nor  tail  of  it, 
but  he  told  me  never  to  say  this  ere,  and  I  don't  any 
more,  but  I  never  could  be  such  a  lady  as  you  are. 
I  spose  you  've  got  beautiful  long  curls  yet.  I  do 
love  curls  so  and  my  hair  's  straight  as  a  stick. 
Mother  says  i  must  tell  you  if  you  ever  come  to 
Middleville  to  stop  and  see  us,  we  live  on  the  back 
road,  Jotham  Strong,  and  we  '11  aU  be  glad  to  see 
you.  I  hope  you  '11  Hke  the  bracket,  and  I  wish  you 
merry  cristmas  a  thousand  times.  Jim  went  to  town 
one  day  and  found  out  who  you  was  —  he  seen  you 
the  night  of  the  fair  too.  Excuse  aU  mistakes.  I 
aint  had  much  chance  for  schooling,  but  I  'm  going 
to  try  now.  I  spose  you  are  a  lady  and  very  rich, 
and  don't  have  to  do  housework,  but  you  're  real 
sweet  and  not  stuck  up,  and  so  you  'U  forgive  the 
boldness  of  my  writing  this  poor  letter. 
"  Yours  respectfully, 

"Saeah  Ann  Stkong." 


GIVING  AND  RECtrVING.  107 

Kathie  had  been  leaning  her  arm  on  Uncle  Eobert's 
knee  as  she  read  aloud. 

"  Not  such  a  bad  letter,"  he  said.  "  I  have  known 
some  quite  stylish  ladies  *  who  did  n't  have  to  do 
housework'  to  make  worse  mistakes  than  this  girl, 
who  evidently  has  had  very  little  chance.  And  then 
country  people  do  not  always  understand  the  advan- 
tages of  education." 

"  I  wanted  to  ask  her  that  evening  not  to  say  '  this 
*ere,'  or  *  that  'ere '  so  much,  but  I  was  afraid  of 
wounding  her  feelings.  I  thought  there  was  some- 
thing nice  about  her,  and  her  mother  was  very 
generous  in  buying.  But  to  think  that  she  should 
have  remembered  me  all  this  while  —  " 

"'A cup  of  cold  water,' "  repeated  Aunt  Kuth,  softly. 

"  It  was  such  a  very  little  thing." 

"  One  of  the  steps." 

Yes.  It  was  the  little  things,  the  steps,  that  fiUed 
the  long,  long  path.  A  warm  glow  suffused  Kathie's 
face.  She  was  thinking  far  back,  —  an  age  ago  it  ap- 
peared, yet  it  was  only  two  years,  —  that  her  mother 
had  said  the  fairies  were  not  aU  dead.  If  Puck  and 
Peas-blossom  and  Cobweb  and  Titania  no  longer 
danced  in  cool,  green  hoUows,  to  the  music  of  lily 


108  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

bells,  there  were  Faitli  and  Love  and  Earnest  En- 
deavor, and  many  another,  to  run  to  and  fro  with 
sweet  messages  and  pleasant  deeds. 

"  I  am  very  glad  and  thankful  that  you  were  polite 
and  entertaining,"  Uncle  Eobert  remarked,  presently. 
"  We  never  know  what  a  kind  word  or  a  little  pains, 
rightly  taken,  may  do.  It  is  the  grand  secret  of  a 
useful  life,  —  sowing  the  seed." 

"  I  must  answer  her  letter,  and  express  my  thanks. 
But  0,  is  n't  it  funny  that  she  thinks  me  such  a  great 
lady!" 

"  Suppose  we  should  drive  out  to  see  her  on  some 
Saturday  ?    Where  is  Middle\alle  ? " 

"  North  of  here,"  returned  Aunt  Euth,  "  in  a  little 
sort  of  hollow  between  the  mountains,  about  seven 
or  eight  miles,  I  should  think." 

"  How  delightful  it  would  be ! "  exclaimed  Kathie. 

"We  will  try  it  some  day^  I  am  very  fond  of 
plain,  social  country  people,  whose  manners  may  be 
unpolished,  but  whose  lives  are  earnest  and  honest 
nevertheless.  We  cannot  aU  be  moss-roses,  with  a 
fine  enclosing  grace,"  said  Uncle  Robert. 

Kathie  read  her  letter  over  again  to  herself,  feeling 
quite  sure  that  Sarah  had  made  some  improvement 
since  the  evenincr  of  the  Fair. 


GIVING   AND  RECEIVING.  109 

"Do  you  want  to  put  the  liclien  up  in  your 
room  ?  "  asked  Uncle  Eobert. 

"  Not  particularly,  —  why  ? " 

"  It  is  such  a  rare  and  beautiful  specimen  that  I 
feel  inclined  to  confiscate  it  for  the  library." 

"  I  wiU  give  it  up  with  pleasure,"  answered  Kathic, 
readily,  "  since  it  remains  mine  all  the  same." 

The  Alstons  had  a  quiet  Christmas  dinner  by 
themselves.  Uncle  Eobert  gave  the  last  touches  to 
the  tree,  and  just  at  dusk  the  small  people  who  had 
been  in\dted  began  to  flock  thither.  Kathie  had  not 
asked  any  of  her  new  friends  or  the  older  girls.  She 
possessed  by  nature  that  simple  tact,  so  essential  to 
fine  and  true  womanhood,  of  observing  the  distinc- 
tions of  society  without  appearing  to  notice  the 
different  position  of  individuals. 

Ethel  Morrison  came  with  the  rest.  She  was 
beginning  to  feel  quite  at  home  in  the  great  house, 
and  yielded  to  Kathie's  peculiar  influence,  which  was 
becoming  a  kind  of  fascination,  a  power  that  might 
have  proved  a  dangerous  gift  but  for  her  exceeding 
truth  and  simplicity. 

The  tree  was  very  brilliant  and  beautiful.  If  the 
gifts  were  not  so  expensive,  they  appeared  to  be  just 


110  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

what  every  one  wanted.  Kathie  was  delighted  with 
the  compliment  to  her  discernment. 

Charlie  Darrell  made  his  appearance  quite  late  in 
the  evening,  with  Dick  Grayson.  The  tapers  were 
just  burning  their  last. 

"  Farewell  to  thee,  0  Christmas  tree  ! "  sang  Dick. 
"  Was  Santa  Claus  good  to  you,  Miss  Kathie  ? " 

"  Very  generous  indeed." 

"  But  0,  did  n't  you  miss  Eob  ?" 

Kathie  had  to  tell  them  about  Uncle  Eobert's  visit. 
*'  And  then,  you  know,  I  was  n't  home  last  year  "  —  in 
answer  to  their  question. 

"  True.  There  was  a  gay  time  here  at  Cedarwood. 
When  Eob  sets  out,  he  is  about  as  funny  as  any  boy 
I  know.  Don't  you  suppose  he  is  just  aching  to  be 
at  home  ? " 

"  I  expect  to  get  off  next  year,"  said  Dick,  "  to 
Yale.     But  I  shall  be  dreadfully  homesick  at  first." 

"So  should  I,"  responded  Charlie;  "but  Eob  is 
such  a  jolly,  happy-go-lucky  fellow." 

"  Has  he  been  in  any  scrapes  yet,  Miss  Kathie  ? " 

"  Not  that  I  have  heard,"  said  Kathie,  laughing. 

A  group  around  the  piano  were  clamoring  for  Ka- 
thie to  play.     She  had  promised  tliem  some  carols. 


GIVING  AND  RECEIVING.  HI 

Dick  and  Charlie  joined.  A  happy  time  they  had, 
singing  everything  they  knew.  Kathie  had  become  a 
very  fair  musician  already. 

While  the  little  ones  were  hunting  up  their  wr|ps, 
Kathie  lingered  a  moment  beside  Charlie. 

"  How  is  Miss  Jessie  to-night  ? "  she  asked. 

"  Quite  well."  Then,  looking  into  her  eyes, 
"You  have  heard  —  " 

"About  Mr.  Meredith?  yes." 

"  It  is  too  bad,  —  is  n't  it  ?  And  he  has  had  a  sub- 
stitute in  the  war.  I  think  he  ought  to  have  come 
back." 

Kathie  was  silent.  How  much  duty  did  a  man  or 
a  woman  owe  to  these  great  life  questions  ?  And 
was  there  not  something  grander  and  finer  in  this 
last  act  of  heroism  than  many  people  were  capable 
of  ?  If  she  could  have  chosen  for  him,  like  Charlie, 
she  would  have  desired  his  return ;  but  if  every  wife 
and  every  mother  felt  so  about  their  soldiers  ? 

She  kissed  Ethel  with  a  peculiar  sympathy  when 
she  bade  her  good  night.  Mr.  Morrison  was  well 
and  satisfied  with  the  new  life,  —  liked  it,  indeed. 

For  the  next  fortnight  it  seemed  to  Kathie  that 
nothing  happened,  —  school  life  and  home  life,  and 


112  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

she  a  little  pendulum  vibrating  between  the  two, 
waiting  for  some  hour  to  strike. 

She  answered  Sarah's  letter,  and  promised  that  she 
and  her  uncle  would  drive  up  when  there  came  a 
pleasant  Saturday  with  the  roads  in  comfortable 
order. 

There  had  been  quite  an  accession  to  the  school  on 
the  first  of  January.  Mrs.  Wilder  had  twenty-one 
pupils  now.  Mr.  Lawrence  came  in  to  give  them 
lessons  in  music,  French,  and  penmanship.  Kathie 
felt  quite  small,  there  were  so  many  young  ladies. 

Several  new  families  had  moved  into  Brookside 
the  preceding  summer,  and  the  Alstons'  acquaint- 
ance had  slowly  widened  among  the  better  class. 
Kathie  remembered  how  grand  she  had  once  consid- 
ered Miss  Jessie,  and  now  she  was  really  beyond  that 
herself. 

At  twelve  the  guis  had  fifteen  minutes'  intermis- 
sion. Sometimes  they  took  a  little  run  through  the 
long  covered  walk,  but  oftener  gathered  around  the 
stove  or  ^dsited  at  one  another's  desks.  There  was 
always  a  vein  of  school-girlish  gossip  on  dress,  or 
amusements,  or  parties,  or  perhaps  the  books  they 
were  reading.     This  generally  took  in  the  circle  just 


GIVING   AND  RECEIVING.  113 

above  Ivathie,  yet  she  used  occasionally  to  listen,  and 
it  always  brought  a  thought  of  Ada  to  her  mind. 

She  sat  puzzling  over  some  French  verbs  one  rainy 
day,  while  Emma  brouglit  out  her  cathedral  that  she 
was  doing  in  India-ink  The  talk  from  the  group  be- 
fore them  floated  to  their  hearing.  It  was  styles  and 
trimming,  velvet  and  laces  that  were  "real,"  and 
gloves  w^ith  two  buttons. 

Emma  glanced  up  with  an  odd  smile.  Kathie, 
seeing  it,  smiled  too. 

"  Let  us  take  a  turn  in  the  walk,"  Emma  said. 
She  was    so    much   taUer  that  she  put  her  arm 
around  Kathie  with  an  odd,  elder-sisterly  feeling. 

"  They  seem  never  to  get  tired  of  it,"  she  began. 
"I  wonder  if  there  is  n't  something  better  to  this 
life  than  the  clothes  one  wears  ? " 

"Yes,"  Kathie  answered,  in  a  slow,  clear  tone, 
though  she  shrank  a  little  from  giving  her  opinion. 
She  had  a  shy  desire  to  escape  these  smaU  responsi- 
bilities, yet  the  consciousness  of  "bearing  witness" 
always  brought  her  back. 
"What  is  it?" 
The  blunt  question  startled  her,  and  a  faint  color 

stole  into  her  face. 
8 


114  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  I  watch  you  sometimes  when  I  suppose  you  are 
not  dreaming  of  it.  We  have  been  sitting  here  to- 
gether for  three  months,  we  were  at  the  Fair,  —  and 
there  is  something  different  about  you  from  what  I 
find  in  most  girls.  I  wonder  if  it  is  your  taste  or 
your  nature." 

"  We  are  none  of  us*  alike,"  said  Kathie,  with  a 
peculiar  half-smile. 

"It  is  not  that  specific  difference  which  we  all 
have.  You  appear  to  be  thinking  of  others,  you 
never  answer  crossly,  you  often  give  up  your  own 
ease  and  comfort,  and  there  is  a  little  light  in  your 
eyes  as  if  sometliing  out  of  your  soul  was  shining 
through  them.  And  all  tliis  talk  about  dressihg  and 
what  one  is  going  to  do  by  and  by  never  touches  you 
at  all.  I  suppose  you  could  have  everything  you 
want  1  Lottie  Thorne  says  your  uncle  idolizes  you, 
and  —  he  is  rich,  I  know." 

"  I  have  all  that  is  necessary,  and  many  luxuries," 
Kathie  answered,  slowly. 

"  But  what  makes  you  —  what  keeps  you  in  such 
a  heaven  of  content  ?  0,  I  can't  explain  what  I 
mean !  I  wonder  if  you  have  religion,  Kathie 
Alston." 


GIVING   AND  RECEIVING.  115 

Do  her  best,  Kathie  coiildnot  keep  the  tears  out  of 
her  eyes.  What  was  there  to  cry  about  ?  But  some- 
how she  felt  so  strange  and  shy,  and  full  of  tender  pain. 

"  I  think  we  ought  all  to  try,"  she  answered,  with 
a  sweet  seriousness  in  her  voice.  "  Even  if  we  can- 
not take  but  one  step  —  " 

"  I  wish  I  knew  what  it  was  ! " 

Kathie's  heart  was  in  her  throat.  She  only  under- 
stood part  of  the  steps  herself.  How  could  she  direct 
another  ?  So  they  took  two  or  three  turns  in  silence, 
then  the  bell  rang. 

"  There  !  I  had  so  much  to  say,  and  maybe  I  shall 
never  feel  in  the  mood  again.  About  dress,  too. 
Some  of  it  troubles  me  sadly." 

She  stooped  suddenly  and  kissed  Kathie  on  the 
forehead,  gave  her  hand  a  sudden,  earnest  pressure, 
and  then  was  her  olden  grave  self. 

And  Kathie  wondered  a  little  if  she  had  not 
shirked  a  duty !  It  seemed  now  as  if  it  would  be 
very  easy  to  say,  "  I  have  enlisted  in  that  greater 
army  of  the  Lord,  and  will  do  what  service  I  can." 
AMiy  had  it  been  so  hard  a  moment  ago  ?  Had  she 
been  challenged  at  the  outpost  and  found  without  a 
coimtersign  ? 


116  KATSIE'S  SOLDIERS. 


CHAPTEE   VII. 

A  VISIT. 

"Do  you  think  we  could  go  to  Middleville  to- 
day ?  "  Kathie  asked,  one  bright  Saturday  morning. 

It  was  a  sharp,  keen  winter's  day,  but  the  roads 
had  been  worn  tolerably  smooth  with  the  sleighing, 
and  it  was  by  far  too  cold  for  alternate  freezing  and 
thawing ;  but  the  sky  was  of  a  clear,  steely  blue,  and 
the  sun  as  brilliant  as  a  midwinter's  sun  could  be. 

"  If  you  did  not  mind  the  cold.  What  is  your 
opinion,  Dora  ?  "  —  turning  to  Mrs.  Alston. 

"  I  suppose  you  could  stand  it  if  you  were  wrapped 
up  good  and  warm." 

"  Would  you  take  the  buggy  ? "  asked  Aunt  RutL 

"  0  yes  ! "  answered  Kathie,  eagerly ;  "  I  cannot 
bear  to  be  shut  up  in  a  close  prison,  as  if  I  was  being 
taken  off  somewhere  for  my  misdeeds." 

"  It  will  be  a  good  deal  colder." 

Uncle  Robert  laughed  as  he  met  Kathie's  mirth- 
ful eyes.    > 


A  VISIT.  117 

"I  shall  not  freeze,  auntie.  I  like  the  sensation 
of  this  strong,  fresh  wind  blowing  square  into  my 
face;  it  takes  the  cobwebs  out  of  my  brains." 

So  the  ponies  had  orders,  and  pricked  up  their  ears 
as  if  they  were  rather  interested  in  trying  the  bracing 
wind  as  well. 

Kathie  bundled  herself  up  quite  to  mamnia's  lik- 
ing. She  slipped  a  little  parcel  under  the  seat,  — 
twd  books  that  she  had  read  time  and  again,  and 
which  she  fancied  might  interest  Sarah,  and  a  few 
other  little  matters,  the  giving  of  which  depended 
upon  circumstances. 

They  said  good  by,  and  were  off.  "  Up  in  the 
mountains  "  was  always  spoken  of  rather  sneeringly 
by  the  Brookside  community.  They  really  were  not 
mountains,  but  a  succession  of  rough,  rocky  lulls, 
where  the  vegetation  was  neither  lovely  nor  abim- 
dant.  Several  different  species  of  cedar,  scrubby  oaks, 
and  stunted  hemlocks,  were  the  principal  variety, 
with  a  matted  growth  of  underbrush ;  and  as  there 
were  many  finer  "woods"  around  Brookside,  these 
were  seldom  haunted  by  pleasure-lovers  or  wonder- 
seekers. 

The  dwellers  therein  were  of  the  oldest-fashioned 


118  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

kind.  You  could  always  tell  them  when  they  came 
to  shop  at  Brookside  by  their  queer  bonnets  and  out- 
of-date  garments,  as  well  as  by  the  wonderful  contrast 
of  colors.  But  the  small  settlements  enjoyed  their 
own  manner  of  living  and  their  o^vn  social  pleasures 
as  thoroughly  as  their  more  refined  neighbors. 

For  quite  a  stretch  the  road  was  level  and  good, 
then  the  ascent  began,  the  houses  were  wider  apart, 
and  with  an  air  of  indifference  as  to  paint  and  repairs, 
while  fences  seemed  to  be  vainly  trying  to  hold  each 
other  up. 

The  ponies  were  fresh  and  frisky,  and  did  not 
mind  the  tug.  Kathie  was  silent  for  the  most  part, 
her  brain  in  a  kind  of  floating  confusion,  not  at  all 
unpleasant,  but  rather  restful. 

"  Now,  which  is  the  back  road,  I  wonder  ? "  said 
Uncle  Robert,  slowly,  checking  the  horses  a  trifle. 

Both  roads  were  exceedingly  di-eary- looking,  but 
they  decided  to  take  the  one  farther  north,  and  be- 
fore they  had  gone  a  quarter  of  a  mile  they  met  a 
team,  driven  by  a  young  lad. 

"Is  this  Lliddleville  ? "  asked  Uncle  Eobert. 

«  Yes." 

''  Which  is  the  back  road  ? " 


A  VISIT.  119 

"  Keep  straight  along.     You  're  right." 

"  Where  does  ]\Ir.  Jotham  Strong  live  ? " 

"  Over  there  in  that  yaller  house,"  the  boy  an- 
swered, nodding  his  head. 

The  place  began  to  take  on  quite  a  village  look. 
There  was  a  browm,  weather-beaten  meeting-house,  a 
small  country  store,  and  houses  scattered  around  at 
intervals.  Some  were  quite  tidy-looking,  but  the 
most  had  a  kind  of  dilapidated  air. 

Mr.  Strong's  w^as  large  and  roomy  on  the  ground- 
lioor,  as  numerous  additions  had  been  made  on  three 
sides  of  the  building.  There  was  a  door-yard  in 
front,  where  in  summer  they  must  have  an  abun- 
dance of  roses,  and  tw^o  wide  flower-beds  down  the 
path.     Such  signs  went  to  Kathie's  heart  at  once. 

Uncle  Eobert  sprang  out  and  knocked  at  the  door. 
The  hard-featured  face  that  Kathie  remembered  so 
well  in  connection  with  the  purple  bonnet  peered 
through  the  kitchen  window. 

The  child  would  have  laughed  at  the  commotion 
inside,  if  she  could  have  seen  it,  —  how  Sary  Ann. 
dragged  the  floating  ends  of  her  hair  into  a  knot, 
caught  up  a  towel  and  wiped  her  face,  making  it 
redder  than  before,  jerked  down  her  sleeves,  which, 


120  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

having  neither  hooks  nor  buttons,  hung  round  her 
wrists. 

She  stared  as  she  opened  the  door  to  a  strange 
man,  but  glanced  past  him  to  the  carriage. 

"I  have  brought  Miss  Kathie  Alston  up  to  see 
you,"  Mr.  Conover  announced,  in  his  warm,  cheer- 
ful voice,  for  he  recognized  Sarah  from  Kathie's 
graphic  description. 

"  0  my !  and  I  'm  all  in  a  heap ;  but  I  'm  so 
glad ! "  and  she  ran  out  to  the  wagon,  but  stopped 
at  the  gate  with  a  sudden  sensation  of  bashfulness, 
and  a  wonder  if  she  ought  not  to  have  said  some- 
thing more  to  the  gentleman. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Sarah  ? "  Kathie's  voice  was 
like  the  softest  of  silver  bells  pealing  on  the  frosty  air. 

"  0, 1  'm  so  glad !  I  did  n't  hardly  believe  you  'd 
come.  I  looked  last  Sat'day.  Your  letter  was  so 
nice.  I  'm  glad  you  liked  the  lichen.  Jim  and  me 
himted  over  hundreds  of  'em,  and  found  the  very  big- 
gest. Do  get  out  and  come  in  the  house  ;  you  must 
be  perished  !  Is  that  the  uncle  you  wrote  about  in 
your  letter  ? " 

"Yes."  Uncle  Eobert  had  come  down  the  path  by 
this  time.  "My  uncle,  Mr.  Conover,"  Kathie  said, 
gmcefully,  "  and  IVIiss  Sarah  Strong." 


A  VISIT.  121 

Sarah  made  a  dash  at  her  hair  again  as  if  she  was 
afraid  of  its  tumbling  down,  and  courtesied  to  Uncle 
Kobert  so  in  the  style  of  a  country  school-girl  that  he 
smiled  inwardly.  "  0,  coax  her  to  get  out ! "  she  ex- 
claimed, appealingly.  "  I  've  got  a  fire  all  ready  to 
light  in  the  best  room,  and  I  want  you  to  see  my 
pictures,"  —  with  a  very  long  emphasis  on  the  last 
syllable.  "  Mother  'xpects  you  to  stay  to  dinner,  and 
my  Sat'day's  work  is  'most  done.     Come  in,  —  do." 

By  this  time  Mrs.  Strong  had  made  herself  tidy 
and  appeared  at  the  hall  door. 

"  Come  in,"  she  exclaimed,  cordially,  —  "  come  in. 
Sary  Ann,  show  the  gentleman  how  to  drive  right 
down  to  the  bam.  Jim  's  there  thrashin',  and  he  '11 
see  to  the  bosses  ! " 

Kathie  was  handed  out.  Sarah  turned  the  horses 
to  face  the  path  to  the  barn. 

"  Down  there,"  she  said.     "  Steve,  come  here  ! " 

Steve,  thirteen  or  thereabout,  sheepislily  obeyed, 
and  took  the  rest  of  his  sister's  order  in  silence. 

"  Don't  you  go,"  said  Mrs.  Strong  to  Mr.  Conover. 
"  There  's  boys  enough  to  the  barn,  and  they  know  all 
about  bosses.  Come  in  an'  get  warm.  You  must  be 
about  froze  !     I  'm  right  glad  to  see  you,  child." 


122  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Kathie  introduced  Uncle  Eobert  again.  They 
were  marshalled  into  a  large,  uucarpeted  kitchen, 
full  of  youngsters,  with  a  great  red-hot  stove  in  their 
midst. 

"  Get  out  of  the  way,  childem  !  Sary  Ann,  run 
light  the  fire  in  the  parlor  while  they  're  gettin'  warm." 

"  It  is  not  worth  while  to  take  that  trouble,"  re- 
turned Uncle  Eobert.  "  We  came  up  for  a  call,  but 
judged  it  best  to  take  the  pleasantest  part  of  such  a 
cold  day.  So  do  not  let  us  iuterfere  with  your  usual 
arrangements." 

"  You  ain't  a  goin'  to  stir  a  step  imtH  after  dinner. 
Sary  'U  be  awful  disapp'inted.  We  've  plenty  of 
everything,  and  you  won't  put  us  out  a  bit.  We  've 
been  looking  for  you,  like,  ever  sence  Sary  Ann  had 
her  letter.  Take  off  your  things,  child !  Ain't  your 
feet  half  froze?" 

"Ono." 

There  was  no  resisting,  however.  Mrs.  Strong 
talked  and  worked,  tumbled  over  the  children,  picked 
them  up  and  set  them  on  chairs,  bidding  them  keep 
out  of  the  way,  insisted  that  Kathie  should  sit  beside 
the  roasting  stove,  and  presently  Sarah  returned. 
She  had  brushed  her  hair  into  a  more  respectable 


A  VISIT.  123 

shape,  and  tied  a  most  unnecessary  scarlet  ribbon  in 
it,  seeing  that  the  liair  was  of  a  sandy  reddish  color. 

But  her  clean  calico  dress  certainly  did  improve 
her.  Yet  as  she  entered  the  room  she  was  seized 
with  a  fit  of  awkward  bashfulness. 

"  I  believe  I  will  go  out  and  look  at  the  ponies," 
remarked  Mr.  Conover. 

"  Mind  they  're  put  out.  You  're  not  going  to  stir 
a  step  till  you  've  had  your  dinner.  Marthy,  you 
peel  them  taters ;  quick  now."  This  to  a  rather 
pretty  girl  of  ten,  who  had  been  writing  with  a  pin 
on  the  steamed  window-pane. 

"  Come  in  the  other  room,"  said  Sarah  to  Kathie. 

The  child  followed.  It  was  not  very  warm  yet, 
but  there  was  a  great  crackling,  blazing  fire  upon  the 
hearth,  which  was  a  delightful  picture  in  itself. 

Sarah  stood  and  viewed  her  guest  wonderingly. 
The  long  golden  curls,  the  clear,  fine  complexion,  the 
neat-fitting  dress,  the  small  w^hite  hands,  and  the 
dainty  kid  boots,  were  all  marvels  to  her. 

"  You  're  very  rich,"  she  said,  presently,  in  a  pe- 
culiar manner,  as  if  she  could  almost  find  it  in  her 
heart  to  envy  Kathie  and  grow  discontented  with 
herself.     Katliie's  fine  sense  and  tact  detected  it. 


124  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

She  stretched  out  her  hand  and  took  Sarah's,  —  a 
little  rough,  but  soft  and  plump.  "  My  uncle  is," 
she  answered  ;  "  he  is  very  good  to  us  children.  My 
father  died  when  I  was  a  tiny  little  girl." 

"  Did  he  ? "  Sarah  knelt  down,  and  began  to  wind 
the  silken  curls  over  her  finger.  "  But  you  are  so  — 
so  different.     You  don't  have  to  work,  —  do  you  ? " 

"A  little,"  and  Kathie  smiled. 

"  What !  a  lady  like  you  ?  Don't  you  keep  ser- 
vants ?    For  Jim  said  the  place  was  like  a  palace ! " 

"We  keep  one  servant  only,  and  a  gardener. 
Mamma  thinks  it  right  that  every  one  should  learn 
to  be  useful." 

"  But  if  I  was  rich  I  would  n't  do  a  thing !  I 
actually  would  n't." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  would  soon  get  tired  of  idleness.'* 

"  0, 1  'd  have  books,  and  read,  and  paint  pictures, 
and  a  pianny  —  " 

"Piano,"  corrected  Kathie,  gravely,  as  if  she  had 
been  a  teacher  with  her  class. 

Sarah  turned  scarlet,  then  gave  a  little  embarrassed 
laugh.  "  I  never  can  get  the  words  all  right.  They 
do  plague  me  so ;  but  I  have  n't  been  to  school  for 
two  years.    Mother  wanted  me  home,  for  Martha  was 


A  VISIT.  125 

so  little.  That  's  why  I  'd  like  to  be  a  lady,  and 
know  just  what  was  right  to  do  and  say.  I  thought 
you  was  so  elegant  that  night !  " 

"  There  are  a  great  many  'ladies,'  as  you  call  them, 
much  poorer  than  you ;  and  some  rich  people  who 
are  coarse  and  ignorant." 

"  There  ain't  only  two  or  three  men  in  Middleville 
any  richer  than  father.  He  owns  sights  of  land  and 
timber,  but  he  thinks  that  if  you  can  read  and  write 
and  cipher  a  little  it  is  enough.  I  don't  suppose  I 
could  ever  be  as  nice  as  you  are,  though,"  —  with  a 
sadness  in  her  tone  and  a  longing  in  her  eyes. 

"  In  what  respect  ?  "    Kathie  smiled  encouragingly. 

i<  Well  —  to  talk  as  you  do.  I  thought  that  night 
at  the  Fair  that  it  was  just  like  a  story-book  or  music. 
I  know  I  'm  always  makin'  mistakes." 

"  Then  you  must  try  to  be  careful.  Does  not  your 
teacher  correct  you  ? " 

"  Well,  I  am  learning  a  little ;  but  it  seems  to  be 
such  hard  work     How  did  you  do  it  ?  " 

"  I  have  always  been  sent  to  school,  and  then  my 
mother  has  taken  a  good  deal  of  pains  with  me.  It 
seems  unfortunate  that  people  should  fall  into  such 
careless  habits  of  pronouncing,  and  oftentimes  of 
spelling." 


126  KATHTE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"Was  my  letter  all  right?"  Sarah  asked,  vnth. 
quick  apprehension.  "  I  tried  so  hard,  and  wrote  it 
over  ever  so  many  times." 

"  I  let  my  uncle  read  it,  and  he  said  he  had  seen 
letters  from  older  women  that  would  hardly  bear 
comparison.     There  were  very  few  mistakes  in  it." 

Kathie's  honesty  impelled  her  to  say  this,  though 
under  some  circumstances  she  would  have  uttered  no 
comment. 

"Tell  me  what  they  were.  I  think  I  could  do 
better  now." 

"  Do  you  really  wish  me  to  ? " 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  with  a  good  deal  of  rising  color. 

"Your  pronoufi  I,  when  you  speak  of  yourself, 
must  always  be  a  capital,  —  never  a  small  i,  and 
dotted." 

"  But  how  can  you  tell  ?  " 

"It  is  a  personal  pronoun,  and  is  never  used  in 
any  other  way.    A  single  I  must  always  be  a  capital." 

"  Always  !  I  'U  be  sure  to  remember  that,"  Sarah 
answered,  with  great  earnestness  ;   "  and  what  else  ? " 

"  Christmas  was  n't  quite  right.  That  begins  with 
a  capital,  because  it  is  a  proper  name,  and  the  first 
syllable  is  spelled  just  like  Christ." 


A  MSIT.  127 

"  Is  it  ?  Why,  I  never  tliought !  and  I  've  seen  it 
so  many  times  too.   What  other  mistakes  were  there  ?  '* 

"I  really  cannot  remember,"  said  Kathie,  laugh- 
ing ;  and  she  spoke  the  truth.  "  The  lichen  was  so 
lovely.  Uncle  Robert  put  it  up  in  the  library.  Where 
do  you  find  such  beautiful  specimens  ?  " 

"  Over  in  the  swamp,  about  a  mile  south  of  here. 
There  are  so  many  pretty  things.  Do  you  know 
Indian  pipe  ? " 

"  Yes  ! "  exclaimed  Kathie,  with  a  touch  of  enthu- 
siasm. 

"  Is  n't  it  lovely  ? — just  as  if  it  was  cut  out  of  white 
wax.  I  like  to  go  rambling  round  to  find  aU  manner 
of  odd  things  ;  but  I  never  thought  of  putting  them 
up  anywhere,  or  making  frames.    0,  come  see  mine ! " 

Both  girls  rose,  and  Kathie  really  took  her  first 
survey  of  the  parlor.  There  was  a  duU-colored  in- 
grain carpet  on  the  floor,  the  flowers  of  which  ran  all 
over  it ;  a  square,  stiff-backed  sofa,  studded  with  brass 
nails ;  some  rush-bottomed  chairs,  two  old  family 
portraits;  and  a  pair  of  high  brass  candlesticks  on 
the  mantelpiece. 

But  above  this  Sarah  had  hung  her  two  pictures, 
and  put  up  the  lichen  brackets. 


128  KATHIE'6  SOLDIERS. 

"  I  could  n't  make  my  frame  as  pretty  as  yours/' 
she  said  ;  "  and  I  broke  ever  so  many  straws.'* 
"  But  you  succeeded  very  well,  I  think." 
"  And  I  made  this.   I  took  the  picture  out  of  a  book." 
It  was  a  moss  frame,  very  neatly  manufactured, 
but  the  picture  was  a  rather  coarsely  colored  fashion- 
plate. 

"I  do  love  pictures  so!  I  wish  I  had  a  whole 
houseful !  And  if  I  could  only  make  'em  myself,  — 
them,  I  mean,"  coloring,  and  correcting  her  speech. 

"  I  have  brought  you  two  more — 0,  they  were  left 
in  the  wagron  !  —  and  some  books." 

o 

Sarah's  eyes  sparkled.  "  Would  you  mind  running 
out  ?  The  boys  have  some  rabbits  down  to  the  bam, 
and  there  's  a  great  swing,  —  0,  and  loads  of  nuts ! 
Do  you  ever  go  chestnutting  ? " 

"  I  have  been,  but  there  are  not  a  great  many  trees 
around  Brookside." 

"Here  's  a  shawl;  just  wrap  yourself  head  and 
ears  in  it.     We  're  going  down  to  the  barn,  mother." 

They  found  Uncle  Kobert  entertaining  Jim  and 
Steve,  the  latter  of  whom  sat  in  wide-eyed  astonish- 
ment; but  the  entrance  of  the  girls  broke  up  the 
conclave. 


A  VISIT.  129 

Sarah  took  Kathie  all  round,  showed  Her  White- 
foot  and  Jenny,  both  of  whom  wliiniiied  gratefully. 
Then  there  was  the  beautiful  little  Durham  heifer 
that  Jim  was  raising,  hens  of  every  variety,  the 
rabbits,  the  loft  strewn  with  corn,  nuts,  and  strings, 
and  packages  of  seeds. 

Then  Katliie  must  swing.  Steve  pushed  her  until 
the  dainty  kid  boots  touched  the  beam,  and  she  expe- 
rienced the  sensation  of  standing  upon  her  head. 

In  the  midst  of  this  a  shrill  blast  from  a  horn 
readied  their  ears.     Kathie  started. 

"  That 's  for  dinner.  Father  's  gone  to  mill  to-day 
with  Mr.  Ketcham,  and  he  won't  be  home." 

a 

The  three  younger  ones  took  the  lead,  while  Uncle 
Kobert  and  Jim  lingered  behind,  discussing  ways  and 
means  of  making  money  at  farming. 

Such  a  table  full  of  youngsters  looked  strange 
to  Kathie's  eyes.  On  the  whole  they  behaved  very 
well,  a  little  awed,  perhaps,  by  the  presence  of 
strangers.  Sarah  paused  now  and  then  to  watch 
Kathie,  whose  quiet  manners  were  "  so  like  a  lady." 
She  made  no  clatter  with  her  knife  and  fork,  did  not 
undertake  to  talk  with  her  mouth  full,  and  said 
"  Thank  you  "  to  everything  that  was  handed  to  her. 


130  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"I  never  can  be  like  that!"  she  thought  with  a 
despairing  sigh,  and  yet  unconsciously  her  manners 
took  tone  from  this  unobtrusive  example. 

Uncle  Eobert  and  Kathie  made  themselves  at  ease 
with  truest  politeness.  Mrs.  Strong  talked  over  the 
Fair,  and  how  much  she  enjoyed  it,  and  told  Kathie 
that  the  children  were  delighted  ^vith  their  gifts. 
Then  followed  some  conversation  on  the  war.  The 
Strongs  were  very  patriotic,  to  say  the  least  Sarah 
was  excused  from  helping  to  wash  the  dishes,  so  she 
and  Kathie  went  to  the  parlor  again,  and  the  package 
was  opened. 

A  very  pretty  story-book,  one  of  Kathie' s  favorites, 
and  a  copy  of  Longfellow's  Evangeline,  illustrated. 
She  had  also  brought  two  colored  photographs,  —  the 
sad-eyed  Evangeline,  and  the  "  Children,"  companion 
pictures. 

"  I  don't  know  .whether  you  like  poetry  or  not,  but 
it  always  seems  to  me  that  it  is  pleasant  to  know  the 
story  of  anything  that  interests  you." 

"  I  like  —  some  verses  —  "  Sarah  returned,  rather 
hesitatingly,  "  and  the  book  is  beautiful.  But  —  I 
can't  say  anytliing  at  all  —  " 

The  tears  were  so  near  to  her  voice  that  it  rendered 
her  almost  ungracious. 


A  \1SIT.  131 

"  You  will  enjoy  them  better  by  and  by,"  Kathio 
went  on,  softly.  "  Some  day  you  may  be  able  to 
make  pretty  frames  for  the  pictures.  And  I  brought 
you  a  set  of  crochet-needles.     Can  you  crochet  ? " 

"  Only  to  make  a  chain.  I  can  do  that  with  my 
fingers.  I  wish  I  did  know  how.  And  if  I  could 
ever  knit  a  cap  like  the  baby's  ! " 

"  We  will  sit  down  here  and  talk,  and  I  can  show 
you  one  or  two  patterns  of  edgings  that  are  simple 
and  pretty." 

"  How  good  you  are  ! " 

Sarah  was  no  dullard,  after  all.  Though  her  fingers 
appeared  rather  clumsy  at  fu^t,  she  soon  managed  to 
conquer  the  intricate  loops,  turnings,  and  stitches. 

"  Why,  I  would  n't  have  believed  it ! "  —  in  great 
joy.     "  I  've  done  a  whole  scallop  by  myself." 

Kathie  laughed  in  answer. 

"  Now,  if  you  '11  oidy  tell  me  something  more 
about  grammar,  and  putting  the  right  word  in  —  the 
place  where  it  belongs.  You  see  all  the  big  girls  at 
school  know  so  much  more  than  I  do  —  " 

Kathie  understood.  She  explained  several  matters 
that  had  been  great  mountains  to  her  in  the  begin- 


132  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Now  and  then  a  bright  light  illumined  the  clear 
hazel  eye,  and  'a  pleased  smile  played  around  the 
lips.  "  How  good  you  are  to  take  so  much  trouble ! " 
she  exclaimed,  gratefully. 

By  and  by  Mrs.  Strong  came  in  to  have  a  little 
visit  with  their  guests.  Sarah  displayed  the  books 
and  pictures,  and  the  three  inches  of  rather  soiled 
crocheted  edging. 

"  Sary  Ann  's  a  curis  girl,"  explaiaed  her  mother ; 
"  she  has  a  great  notion  of  larnin',  and  all  that,  but 
her  father  has  n't  much  faith  lq  it.  He  thinks  gals 
and  wimmen  were  a  good  deal  better  when  they  did 
n't  know  so  much ;  and  then  you  begin  to  want  — 
everything.  There  's  so  much  dressin'  and  foolin' 
goin'  on  nowadays." 

"It  is  rather  the  lack  of  education,  I  should 
imagine.  True  knowledge  expands  one's  soul  as 
well  as  one's  mind,"  said  Uncle  Eobert. 

"Well,  mebbe,  if  it  's  the  right  sort;  but  this 
gettin'  their  heads  so  full  of  dress  —  " 

"  Which  is  a  sign  that  something  better  should  be 
in  them,"  was  the  pleasant  response. 

"  And  then  they  're  ashamed  of  their  homes,  and 
their  parents  as  slaved  to  bring  them  up,  and  make 


A  VISIT.  •      133 

fun  of  everything  that  is  n't  right  according  to  their 
thinking.     I  Ve  seen  it  more  'n  once." 

Katliie  bhished,  remembering  Lottie  Thome's  criti- 
cism.    INIrs.  Strong  certainly  did  look  prettier  in  thi^ 
clean  calico  gown  and  white   collar  than   in   her 
purple  bonnet  with  red  roses. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered ;  "  it  does  happen,  I  know. 
But  it  seems  to  me  that  any  daughter  or  sister  who 
acquired  with  her  other  knowledge  true  views  of  her 
duty  towards  God  and  those  around  her  could  hardly 
fail  to  be  benefited  by  an  enlargement  of  her  narrow 
sphere  of  thought.  Our  first  duty  is  at  home,  but  we 
do  not  stop  there." 

"  Few  people  think  of  duties  of  any  kind  nowa- 
days." 

"  Does  not  God  leave  a  little  to  us  ?  We  who 
know  them  ought  to  make  them  attractive  to 
others." 

"  It  's  so  much  easier  to  be  bad ;  and  I  often 
wonder  at  it,"  whispered  Sarah,  through  Kathie's 
shimmering  curls.  "  But  if  some  one  would  make 
all  that  is  right  and  good  attractive,  as  your  imcle 
says  —  I  wish  I  could  live  with  you  awhile.  I  don't 
believe  you  ever  have  anything  to  worry  you  ! " 


134  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  answered  Kathie ;  "  I  have  to  try 
pretty  hard  sometimes.'* 

Sarah  studied  her  in  surprise.  "  But  if  I  were  to 
%try  I  never  could  be  half  so  good." 

"  Will  you  try  ?  "  Kathie  uttered  it  with  uncon- 
scious earnestness,  and  the. light  that  so  often  shone 
about  her  came  out  in  her  face. 

But  Uncle  Eobert,  looking  at  his  watch,  declared 
that  it  was  time  for  them  to  go.  Mrs.  Strong  was  so 
sorry  not  to  have  "Father"  see  them,  and  begged 
them  to  come  agairu 

"  It  's  been  such  a  beautiful  visit,"  exclaimed 
Sarah,  with  a  tremble  in  her  voice.  "  I  '11  try  to 
remember  everything  you  have  told  me  ! " 

Steve  brought  a  bag  of  nuts  to  put  in  the  wag- 
on, and  Jim  shook  hands  rather  sadly  with  Uncle 
Eobert. 

"  He  is  one  of  the  right  kind  " ;  and  with  that  he 
went  back  to  the  barn,  whistling  thoughtfully. 


COMFORT  IN  NEED.  135 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

COMFORT  IN  NEED. 

**  Well,  Katliie,  was  the  visit  a  success  ? " 
They  had  ridden  a  long  way  before  Uncle  Robert 
asked  this   question.     He   had  been  remarking  the 
changes  that  passed   over  Kathie's   face  like  light 
drifts  of  summer  clouds. 

"  I  am  very  glad  that  we  went," 
"  \Vliat  perplexes  you  then,  Kitty^  ? " 
"  A  good  many  things.  Uncle  Eobert.     Some  grave 
questions    that    I   cannot    understand,"    in    a    haK- 
besitating  way. 

"  Can  I  help  you  ? "  The  tone  was  gravely  sweet. 
"  You  always  do,"  —  smiHng.  "  Something  Mrs. 
Strong  said  troubled  me.  Sarah  is  ambitious,  she 
has  a  desire  for  education,  and  a  longing  for  refine- 
ment," —  with  deliberation  in  her  slow  tones.  "  But 
what  if  —  she  slwuld  be  ashamed  of  her  home,  after 
all  ?  It  is  not  so  very  attractive,  —  pretty,  I  mean. 
^^^ly,  the  only  lovely  thing  in  that  great  parlor  was 
the  bright  blazing  fii-e." 


136  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"  If  Sarah  takes  hold  of  the  right  end  of  life,  she 
will  try  to  make  her  home  more  pleasant  for  the 
others  as  well  as  herself." 

"  But,  Uncle  Eobert,  it  is  so  hard  to  see  when  yon 
are  right  in  the  midst  of  a  thing,  —  a  sort  of  muddle. 
A  person  standing  on  the  outside  would  be  likely  to 
discover  the  best  paths.  And  I  thought  —  what  if 
I  should  be  the  means  of  making  her  discontented 
instead  of  happy." 

"  So  you  are  not  quite  convinced  that  it  is  wisest 
to  sow  beside  all  waters  ? "  —  with  his  peculiar  smile. 

"  If  I  was  certain  I  had  the  right  seed." 

"  The  seed  is  all  alike,  —  love,  faith,  patience.  Yes, 
I  can  catch  your  meaning,"  —  as  the  little  face  grew 
very  sober.  "  You  do  not  want  to  rouse  her  to  a  sense 
of  and  love  for  beauty  to  wjiich  she  can  never  attaiii." 

"  That  is  it." 

"  I  do  not  imagine  you  need  begin  to  feel  anxious 
immediately.  Her  crude  attempts  at  beautifying  wiU 
be  very  good  exercise  for  her  awakening  brain,  and 
she  has  so  much  of  the  practical  to  learn  that  she 
will  be  less  Likely  to  run  into  vanity,  at  least  no  more 
than  one  would  naturally  expect.  If  you  choose, 
Kathie,  you  might  help  her  in  a  very  good  work." 


COMFORT  IN  NEED.  137 

"  I  do  choose." 

"  When  you  find  that  you  have  too  much  on  your 
small  hands,  you  must  pass  the  heaviest  over  to  me. 
Eemember  that  I  shall  always  stand  ready.  And 
doing  these  bits  of  girl-work  for  girls  will  make  the 
woman-work  plainer  by  and  by.  It  is  taking  up  the 
little  opportunities  as  they  come,  not  waiting  for  a 
great  deed  to  be  shaped  to  your  hand  presently." 

"I  think  I  must  always  do  little  deeds.  They 
seem  so  much  safer  to  me  than  the  large  ones." 

"I  heard  Sarah  ask  if  she  might  write  to  you; 
what  did  you  answer  ?  " 

"  I  said  that  I  should  be  glad  to  hear.  And  I  shall 
want  to  know  how  she  likes  her  books.  You  do  not 
think  mamma  would  object  ?  " 

"  0  no.  It  is  the  best  and  wisest  act  that  you 
could  do  for  her.  There  was  something  so  sweet  and 
grateful  in  her  sending  you  the  lichen  that  I  have 
a  good  deal  of  faith  in  her  capabilities.  It  will  be 
good  ground  in  which  to  sow  seed.  Sarah's  whole 
life  may  be  the  better  for  the  chance  friendship." 

"  But  if  she  should  become  refined  and  —  " 

"  That  is  looking  to  the  flavor  of  the  fruit,  my 
dear.  God  means  that  we  shaU  not  see  it  any  faster 
than  it  can  giow." 


138  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

# 

She  smiled,  satisfied. 

The  air  was  very  keen  indeed  now.  A  bitterly 
cold  night  it  would  be.  The  tender  heart  went  out 
to  the  thousands  on  "tented  field,"  and  prayed  for 
peace,  that  they  might  return  to  warm,  pleasant  fire- 
sides. 

Aunt  Euth  ran  do^vn  stairs  as  she  saw  them  coming. 

"  Let  Freddy  take  the  horses,"  she  said.  "  A  tele- 
gram has  come  for  you,  and  it  may  be  important." 

Freddy  was  elated  with  the  permission.  He  was 
indulged  now  and  then  with  short  drives,  but,  being 
rather  anxious  to  display  his  skiU,  he  was  sometimes 
quite  venturesome. 

Kathie  drew  a  long,  anxious  breath.  As  was  natu- 
ral, her  first  thought  was  for  Eob. 

An  expression  serious  almost  to  pain  crossed  Uncle 
Kobert's  face. 

"  Sad  tidings  for  the  close  of  our  happy  day,"  he 
said.  "  I  am  summoned  to  Alexandria  immediately. 
Mr.  Meredith  — "  Then  he  handed  the  slip  of  paper 
to  Kathie. 

Mr.  Meredith  had  been  severely  wounded,  and  sent 
to  the  hospital  at  Alexandria,  whether  fatally  or  not 
the  messaiie  did  not  state. 


COMFORT  IN  NEED.  139 

"The  express  tmin  goes  through  at  six,"  Uncle 
Ivobert  said,  "  and  in  this  case  there  is  no  time  to  be 
lost." 

They  all  felt  that  when  Mr.  Meredith  sent,  the 
summons  must  be  urgent  indeed.  Mr.  Conover  had 
more  than  an  hour  to  make  the  few  preparations  he 
would  require.  But  there  were  two  or  three  letters 
to  answer,  so  he  went  to  the  library,  wliile  Mrs. 
Alston  hurried  the  tea. 

Kathie  stood  by  the  window  in  a  mood  of  peculiar 
silence.  Somehow,  though  she  had  known  the  dan- 
ger all  along,  with*  the  confidence  of  love  she  could 
hardly  believe  that  any  evil  would  betide  her  soldiers. 
Numbers  of  men  had  served  their  three  years  with- 
out any  serious  mishap,  and  it  seemed  as  if  God 
would  watch  over  these  two  among  the  many  thou- 
sands. 

"  Aunt  Euth,  do  you  suppose  —  " 

"  My  darling,  we  can  suppose  nothing,  only  hope 
for  the  best." 

"But  it  is  so  terrible  to  think  of  him — in  any 
great  peril" 

So  gay  and  laughing  always,  so.  fuU  of  vivacity 
with  aU  his  gentlemanly  indolence,  so   strong  and 


140  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

buoyant !  In  fancy  she  saw  him  stretched  upon  a  hos- 
pital pallet,  very  white,  like  Aunt  Euth,  last  winter, 
or  perhaps  ha^dng  undergone  some  fearful  operation. 

And  then  there  came  to  Kathie  a  remembrance  of 
the  last  drive  together,  of  the  few  lines  in  the  letter. 
It  was  so  precious  to  know  that,  living  or  dying,  all 
was  weU  with  him.  Kathie  clung  to  that  comfort 
with  all  her  fond,  trembling  heart.  Was  it  God's  love 
and  grace  that  brought  human  souls  so  near  together 
and  made  them  one  great  family  ? 

"I  have  one  request  to  make,"  exclaimed  Uncle 
Eobert,  entering  the  room ;  "  if  you  should  see  any 
of  the  Darrells  do  not  mention  this  circumstance, 
unless  they  may  have  heard.  I  will  telegraph  home 
as  soon  as  I  reach  the  hospital,  and  write  at  my  ear- 
liest convenience.  Kathie,  will  you  run  over  to  the 
Lodge  and  ask  Mr.  Morrison  to  drive  me  to  the 
station  by  six  ? " 

Kathie  wrapped  up  head  and  ears  in  a  blanket- 
shawl,  and  ran  down  the  drive.  When  she  came 
back  supper  was  ready  and  Uncle  Eobert's  port- 
manteau packed. 

They  bade  him  a  tender  good-by,  and  Kathie 
whispered  a  fond  and  precious  message. 


CO^rFORT   IN  NEED.  141 

Aiterward  they  went  to  Aunt  Ruth's  sitting-room. 
Kathie  felt  rather  drowsy  and  indolent  with  her  ride 
through  the  keen  air,  and  took  possession  of  Aunt 
Euth's  lounge;  for  she  was  in  no  mood  to  read  or 
sew,  or  even  to  take  up  her  fancy  crocheting. 

"  Did  you  have  a  nice  visit  ? "  asked  her  mother,  at 
length. 

Tliat  roused  Kathie,  "  It  was  very  peculiar,  mam- 
ma, and  I  enjoyed  it  a  good  deal.  I  like  Sarah, 
although  she  is  not  —  " 

"Not  much  cultivated,  I  suppose,"  said  Aunt 
Ruth. 

"Mamma,  why  did  not  we,  when  we  were  very 
poor,  grow  careless  ?  I  don't  know  as  I  can  explain 
just  what  I  mean."  Kathie  raised  her  face,  per- 
plexed and  rosy. 

"  I  think  I  understand.  It  is  not  the  result  of 
a  few  years,  or  even  of  poverty,  but  the  lack  of  cul- 
ture. Often  a  whole  village  or  settlement,  where 
there  is  no  particular  ambition  for  education,  will 
fall  into  careless  and  rough  habits  of  action  and 
speech.  Every  one  does  the  same,  and  it  is  hardly 
remarked." 

"  But  I  suppose  there  has  always  been  a  school  at 


142  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Middleville,  —  and  it  is  so  near  Brookside  and  other 
towns." 

"  Many  of  these  old  country  settlers  are  very  sen- 
sitive. They  think  their  way  as  good  as  any  one's, 
and,  if  a  few  families  are  particularly  refined,  accuse 
tliem  of  holding  themselves  in  high  esteem,  and  being 
above  their  neighbors.  It  often  proves  difficult  to 
overcome  old  habits  of  pronunciation  and  the  man- 
ners and  customs  to  which  one  has  always  been  used. 
It  was  different  in  our  case.  Aunt  Euth  and  I  were 
brought  up  in  a  city,  and  had  the  best  advantages.  I 
was  not  very  likely  to  forget  what  I  had  learned  as  a 
girl" 

It  did  make  some  difference,  then,  whether  a  per- 
son was  rich  or  poor ;  and  if  one  could  not  help  his 
or  her  position  — 

"  Mamma,  was  n't  it  very  hard  to  lose  your  for- 
tune ? " 

"  Yes,  dear,"  Mrs.  Alston  answered,  simply. 

'•'  But  we  might  have  been  poorer  stilL  There  are 
all  the  Maybins  —  and  the  Aliens  --'  and  we  had  a 
very  comfortable  home." 

"  Yes.  We  owned  our  cottage,  and  had  an  income 
of  just  seventy  dollars  a  year.      It  was  a  great  deal 


COMFORT  IN  NEED.  143 

better  than  nothing,  though  many  a  stitch  had  to  be 
taken  to  provide  for  the  rest  of  our  needs." 

Kathie  remembered, —  staying  in  the  house  to  sew 
long  simple  seams  for  mamma,  doing  errands,  wash- 
ing dishes,  sweeping  rooms,  and  wearing  dresses  that 
were  faded,  shoes  a  little  shabby,  and  never  having 
more  than  a  few  pennies  to  spend.  How  gi-eat  the 
change  was  !  And  it  did  not  end  with  personal 
comforts  merely.  Nearly  all  the  rich  people  in  the 
neighborhood  came  to  visit  them.  Every  one  nodded 
to  her  as  she  drove  out  in  her  pony-carriage.  Yet,  if 
she  lost  her  fortune,  would  they  let  her  drop  out 
of  sight  and  out  of  mind  ?  Ah,  how  very  cruel  it 
would  be  ! 

"It  is  a  very  delightful  thing  to  have  an  abun- 
dance," Mrs.  Alston  went  on,  as  if  she  held  the  key 
to  her  daughter's  thoughts.  "  Not  that  it  ever  makes 
a  person  better,  socially  or  morally,  though  the  world, 
society,  generally  gives  the  precedence  to  money.  It 
affords  you  leisure  for  cultivation ;  it  frees  you  from  a 
great  many  harassing  cares,  though  it  may  bring 
others  in  their  stead,  for  no  life  is  exempt.  And  it 
certainly  does  add  many  new  duties." 

"It  is  right  to  have  the  cultivation,  the  pretty 


144  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

houses,  the  beautiful  furniture  and  pictures  and  — - 
dresses  ?  " 

Kathie  asked  her  question  with  a  sort  of  hurried 
abruptness,  as  if  a  definite  answer  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  her,  as  if,  indeed,  she  longed  for  a  fuller 
undei'standing  of  the  subject. 

"  Yes,"  answered  her  mother,  slowly.  "  All  these 
things  were  given  to  us  to.  enjoy,  to  use,  yet  not 
abuse.  But  when  we  sec3k  them  selfishly,  when  we 
think  of  nothing  beyond  our  own  personal  needs,  and 
of  ministering  to  our  vanity  and  self-love,  they  do 
become  a  great  snare  and  temptation." 

"  If  one  could  teU  just  where  the  dividing  line 
ought  to  be,"  Kathie  said,  shyly. 

"  It  is  quite  easily  found  if  one  searches  in  earnest : 
to  think  of  others  rather  than  of  one's  seK;  to  give 
as  well  as  to  receive,  not  merely  money  or  clothes, 
but  sympathy,  love,  tender  thoughts,  little  acts  of 
pleasure ;  to  minister  to  the  poor  in  spirit  as  weU  as 
the  poor  in  purse." 

"And  that  brings  me  back  to  Sarah,  mamma. 
Her  fatlier  may  be  as  rich  as  —  we  are,"  rather  hesi- 
tatingly. "  At  all  events  Mrs.  Strong  spent  a  good 
deal  at  our  table  at  the  Fair,  and  never  seemed  to 


COMFORT  IN  NEED.  145 

mind  it  a  bit.  But  their  house  has  such  a  barren 
look.  They  have  very  few  books  or  pictures  or  pretty 
articles  of  any  kmd,  yet  I  do  believe  Sarah  would 
be  very  fond  of  them.  She  has  not  been  to  school 
for  nearly  two  years,  so  she  has  had  very  little  chance 
to  improve.  Her  father  is  afraid  that  if  she  should 
learn  a  great  deal  she  will  be  ashamed  of  her  home, 
and  all  that.  I  do  not  see  how  she  could  like  it  very 
much,  because  there  is  so  little  in  it  to  please." 

"  Some  old-fashioned  people  seem  to  be  afraid  of 
education,  but  I  believe  it  is  from  a  lack  of  true  ap- 
preciation of  it.  Whether  rightly  or  not,  civilization 
has  made  our  wants  extend  beyond  the  mere  neces- 
sities of  life.  We  need  some  food  for  the  soul  as 
well  as  for  the  body." 

"  But  if  education  should  make  Sarah  discontented 
and  unhappy  ? " 

"  We  cannot  always  see  what  the  result  will  be, 
but  we  are  exhorted  to  work,  nevertheless." 

"  She  asked  me  to  write  to  her  again,  mamma.  You 
do  not  think  it  will  be  —  "  Kathie  could  hardly  get 
hold  of  the  right  word  to  use. 

"  Injudicious,  I  suppose  you  mean  ?  No,  I  do  not. 
You  may  learn  something  as  well." 

10 


146  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Kathie  was  glad  that  her  mother  looked  upon  it  in 
that  light,  and  yet  she  smiled  a  little  to  herself,  not 
exactly  discerning  her  own  lesson  in  the  matter. 

"  Our  Saviour  said, '  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely 
give ' ;  and,  my  little  girl,  it  seems  to  me  that  we 
have  received  very  generously.  When  I  was  prosper- 
ous before,  I  "am  afraid  that  I  did  not  think  much  of 
the  needs  of  those  around  me ;  but  in  my  poverty  I 
saw  so  often  where  a  little  would  have  been  of  great 
assistance  to  me.  I  feel  now  as  if  God  had  placed  a 
great  treasure  in  my  hands  to  be  accounted  for  to  the 
uttermost  farthing  at  the  last  day.  It  will  be  good 
then  to  have  other  lips  speak  for  us." 

Kathie  understood.  "  Yes,  it  will,  mamma." 
Then  she  lapsed  into  silence.  How  all  these  things 
crowded  upon  one  as  the  years  went  by  !  FoiirteeB 
now ;  m  three  years  she  would  be  quite  a  young  lady. 
Looking  at  it  caused  her  to  shrink  back  to  the  clois- 
ters of  girlhood. 

Afterward  her  heart  wandered  out  with  Uncle 
Eobert  on  his  lonesome  night-journey,  and  to  the 
other  face  pictured  still  and  white  before  her.  All 
she  could  do  in  this  case  was  to  pray. 

They  went  to  church  on  Sunday,  and  saw  Miss 


COMFORT  IN  NEED.  147 

Jessie,  bright  and  smiling  as  usual.  Then  she  did 
not  know  !     It  actually  startled  Katliie  a  little. 

"  Where  is  your  uncle  ? "  Charlie  asked,  as  they 
were  standing  together. 

"  He  was  called  a^vay  upon  some  business,"  Mrs. 
Alston  answered  for  Kathie. 

The  telegram  came  on  Monday.  "  Arrived  safely," 
it  said.  "  No  .change  in  Mr.  Meredith.  Look  for  a 
letter  to-morrow." 

So  they  could  still  tell  nothing  about  him.  Kathie 
had  grown  so  very  anxious  that  it  appeared  as  if  she 
could  not  wait.  The  day  was  a  little  cloudy,  and'  she 
made  that  an  excuse  for  not  driving  out.  Even  her 
music  failed  to  interest.  She  just  wanted  to  sit  and 
wonder,  never  coming  to  any  definite  conclusion. 

The  Tuesday  letter  was  long,  ^vritten  at  inter- 
vals, and  contained  the  whole  story.  Mr.  Meredith 
was  out  with  a  scouting-party  early  in  the  week 
Ijefore,  when  they  were  surprised  by  the  enemy  and 
made  a  desperate  resistance.  But  for  his  coolness 
and  bravery  none  of  them  would  have  escaped.  Two 
or  three  were  killed* and  several  wounded,  —  he  very 
seriously  indeed ;  and  he  had  been  sent  immediately 
to  Alexandria.     The  journey  had  doubtless  aggravated 


148  KATHIE'S  SOLDIEBS. 

the  injury.  He  was  in  a  high  fever  now ;  and  though 
he  had  recognized  Mr.  Conover  at  first,  he  soon  lapsed 
into  forgetfulness  again.  Mr.  George  Meredith  had 
been  on,  and  was  unable  to  remain ;  but  Uncle  Eobert 
had  decided  that  this  was  his  post  of  duty  for  the  pres- 
ent.    He  had  also  written  to  Miss  Jessie,  he  said. 

"  We  must  give  him  up  willingly,  therefore,"  Mrs. 
Alston  remarked. 

Yes;  Kathie  least  of  all  felt  inclined  to  grudge 
another  the  cheerful,  comforting  presence. 

"  But  it  is  terrible  !  "  she  said ;  "  it  did  not  seem  to 
me  as  if  Mr.  Meredith  could  die." 

"  He  may  not.  If  they  can  succeed  in  keeping  the 
fever  under  control  there  will  be  hope.  The  wound 
itself  is  quite  manageable.  Uncle  Eobert  believes." 

But  by  the  end  of  the  week  IVIiss  Jessie  and  her 
father  had  been  summoned.  There  was  very  little  if 
any  hope. 

One  of  Ada's  occasional  letters  reached  Kathie 
about  this  time.  "  Is  n't  it  dreadful  ? "  she  wrote. 
"Mamma  says  that  she  can  hardly  forgive  Uncle 
Edward  for  going  in  the  first  place,  when  there  really 
was  no  need,  and  he  was  crazy  to  enlist  afterward ; 
and  it  puts  everything  out  so !     I  must  tell  you  that 


COMFORT  IN  NEED.  149 

wiamma  intended  to  give  a  grand  party.  The  cards 
liad  been  printed,  and  some  of  the  arrangements 
made,  "but  when  gapa  came  home  he  would  not  hear 
a  word  about  it.  I  have  been  out  quite  a  good  deal 
this  winter,  and  have  several  elegant  party  dresses. 
I  was  to  have  a  beautiful  new  pink  silk  for  this,  but 
mamma  would  n't  buy  it  when  she  heard  the  worst 
news.  It 's  too  bad  ;  and  if  Uncle  Edward  should  be 
lame  or  crippled —  0,  I  cannot  bear  to  think  of 
it !  If  he  had  been  an  officer  there  would  have  been 
a  great  fuss  made  about  it.  I  really  felt  ashamed  to 
see  just  '  Edward  Meredith,  wounded,'  as  if  he  were 
John  Jones,  or  any  common  fellow  !  But  I  hope  he 
will  not  die.  Death  is  always  so  gloomy,  and  mam- 
ma would  have  to  wear  black ;  so  there  would  be  an 
end  to  gayeties  all  the  rest  of  the  winter." 

Kathie  felt  rather  shocked  over  this,  it  sounded  so 
heartless.  Was  death  only  an  interruption  to  pleas- 
ure ?  As  for  her,  she  carried  the  thought  in  her 
heart  day  and  night,  and  began  to  feel  what  the 
Saviour  meant  when  he  said,  "  Pray  without  ceasing." 
How  easy  it  seemed  to  go  to  him  in  any  great  sor- 
row ! 

"  But  0,  is  n't  it  lonely  ? "  she  said  to  her  mother. 


150  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  If  Uncle  Eobert  had  been  compelled  to  go,  how 
could  we  have  endured  it  ?  —  and  Rob  away  too,  — 
dear  Eob  ! " 

That  reminded  her  that  she  owed  him  a  letter.  It 
was  such  an  effort  nowadays  to  rouse  herself  to  any 
work  of  choice  or  duty.  "Which  is  not  marching 
steadily  onward,"  she  thought  to  herself.  "I  can 
only  pray  for  Mr.  Meredith,  but  I  may  work  for 
others.     Eouse  thee,  little  Kathie!" 


THORNS  m  THE  PATH.  151 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THORNS  IN  THE  PATH. 

It  appeared  to  Kathie  that  she  had  never  known 
t/  •  long  a  fortnight  as  the  first  two  weeks  of  Uncle 
Pobert's  absence ;  yet  everything  -had  gone  on  just 
the  same,  none  of  the  duties  were  changed,  only  the 
absence  and  the  dreadful  suspense. 

Yet  something  else  had  happened,  or  was  working 
itself  out  slowly  day  by  day.  Among  the  new  schol- 
ars were  several  quite  stylish  and  fashionable  girls, 
who  felt  inclined  to  draw  a  line,  or  make  some  kind 
of  a  social  distinction. 

Foremost  among  these  was  Isabel  Hadden,  a 
tall,  showy  girl,  who  prided  herself  upon  her  figure 
and  style.  Her  father  had  made  a  fortune  as  an 
army  contractor,  and  was  now  in  Washington.  He 
had  purchased  a  very  pretty  country  residence  at 
Brookside,  and  installed  his  family  there,  though 
Mrs.  Hadden  frequently  joined  him  for  weeks  at  a 
time. 


152  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

Belle  had  been  at  a  second-rate  boarding-school  for 
a  year  before  the  family  had  attained  their  present 
grandeur.  Now  a  distant  connection  filled  the  posi- 
tion of  governess  to  the  host  of  younger  children ; 
but  Belle  considered  herself  too  large  to  come  in 
with  "  that  crowd,"  as  she  rather  disdainfully  termed 
them. 

She  was  sent  to  school  every  morning  in  the  car- 
riage, and  it  not.  infrequently  came  for  her  in  the 
afternoon.  Bather  distant  and  haughty  at  first,  she 
had  not  made  friends  very  easily.  Mrs.  Thome  hap- 
pened to  meet  Mrs.  Hadden  at  an  evening  party,  and 
it  was  followed  by  a  mutual  acquaintance.  There- 
upon Isabel  and  Lottie  became  friends,  though  the 
latter  was  somewhat  younger.  Lottie's  mother  was 
very  ambitious  for  her,  and  since  Mr.  Thorne  would 
not  consent  to  the  expense  of  a  boarding-school,  she 
sent  Lottie  to  Mrs.  Wilder,  as  it  was  so  much  more 
genteel. 

Belle  became  the  leader  of  the  small  clique  who 
discussed  fashions  habitually.  She  criticised  the 
dresses,  cuffs,  collars,  and  laces  for  the  edification  of 
her  youthful  hearers,  until  Ermna  Lauriston  said  one 
day,  "  Miss  Hadden  is  as  good  as  a  fashion-magazine. 


THORNS  IN  THE  PATH.  153 

I  don't  know  but  she  would  be  invaluable  in  a  fancy 
goods'  store.'* 

Lottie  still  kept  to  her  old  habit  of  calling  upon 
Kathie  for  assistance  when  lessons  were  puzzling. 
For  several  days  in  succession  she  had  occupied 
Kathie's  short  intermission,  and  Mrs.  Wilder  found 
that  she  began  to  depend  too  much  upon  this  kindly 
help. 

«  Miss  Kathie,"  her  teacher  said  at  length,  "I  have 
a  request  or  a  command  in  my  mind,  —  you  can  con- 
sider it  as  which  ever  is  easiest  to  obey,"  and  Mrs. 
Wilder  smiled. 

Kathie  smiled  as  well,  in  her  pleasant  fashion. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  find  fault  with  any  generous  deed 
that  school-girls  do  for  one  another,  but  I  think  Lot- 
tie Thome  has  come  to  depend  altogether  too  much 
upon  you.  It  is  hardly  fab*  to  occupy  your  few 
moments  of  recreation  when  by  a  little  closer  appli- 
cation she  could  solve  her  own  problems  and  transla- 
tions.    Tliis  is  really  necessary  for  her  own  good." 

"I  did  not  like  to  be  disobliging,"  Kathie  answered, 
by  way  of  excuse. 

"Your  generosity  is  carried  almost  to  a  fault  at 
times.    You  ^lust  learn  to  say  '  No '  occasionally." 


154  KATHIE'S  SOLDixsrwS. 

Kathie's  soft  eyes  were  downcast.  It  vjould  be 
very  hard  to  refuse. 

"  Lottie  has  as  much  time  to  study  her  lessons  at 
home  as  you  have,  and  I  am  always  ready  to  explain 
any  difficulty.  That  is  one  of  my  duties  towards  my 
pupils.  I  am  in  a  measure  answerable  for  her  im- 
provement ;  and  if  she  slips  through  upon  the  assist- 
ance of  others  she  will  be  the  loser  in  the  end.  You 
understand  what  I  mean  ?  —  that  while  I  do  not  wish 
to  discourage  a  helpful  feeling  among  the  girls,  I 
desire  that  each  one  should  study  for  herself." 

"  Yes,"  Kathie  said,  in  a  low  tone. 

"  And,  my  little  friend,  it  is  necessary  that  one 
should  learn  to  be  just  as  well  as  generous." 

Katliie  felt  the  force  of  the  remark.  Uncle  Eobert 
had  explained  this  occasionally  to  her  in  connection 
with  Eob,  who  was  rather  fond  of  making  her  ex- 
tensively useful.  Then  she  always  hated  to  say  no 
to  others.  It  was  easier  to  sacrifice  her  own  pleas- 
ures or  desu'es. 

To  smooth  the  matter  for  her,  Mrs.  Wilder,  an- 
nounced, that  morning  that  she  wished  each  girl's 
translations  to  be  exclusively  her  own  work,  and  if 
there  was  any  great  difficulty  she  would  be  glad  to 
have  them  apply  to  \Ler. 


THORNS   IN   THE  PATH.  155 

Kathie  left  the  school-room  the  instant  recess 
began.  Lottie  was  still  puzzling  over  her  algebra, 
and,  having  finished  that,  slie  took  up  her  imperfect 
French,  meaning  to  go  in  search  of  her  little  helper. 

Two  or  three  girls  were  discussing  a  party. 

"  I  helped  Hattie  Norman  make  out  her  list  last 
night,"  said  Belle  Hadden.  "  It  is  to  be  very  select. 
Her  mother  insisted  that  all  the  Brookside  rabble 
should  not  be  invited." 

Hattie  Norman  was  one  of  the  new-comers.  Lot- 
tie's heart  beat  a  little  faster  as  she  wondered  whether 
she  would  be  classed  among  the  rabble. 

"The  Norman  boys  are  elegant,"  pursued  Belle. 
"They  have  all  been  to  dancing-school;  and  there 
will  be  two  of  Hattie's  cousins  from  the  city,  —  five 
young  gentlemen  of  one's  own." 

"You  might  tell  us  who  the  lucky  ones  are," 
pleaded  a  voice. 

"  That  is  my  secret.  The  invitations  are  to  be  sent 
out  to-day.  I  would  n't  miss  it  for  anything.  Mam- 
ma brought  me  an  elegant  tarlatan  overskirt  the  last 
time  she  came  from  New  York.  It  is  just  a  mass  of 
fluted  ruffling.  I  shall  wear  it  over  my  blue  silk,  I 
think ;  blue  is  so  becoming  to  me." 


156  KATHIE'S  SOLDIEKS. 

Lottie  lingered,  talking  and  listening,  and  before 
she  imagined  the  moments  were  half  gone  the  beU 
on  IVIrs.  Wilder's  table  rang. 

"  0  Kathie,  just  stop  an  instant ! "  she  cried ;  but 
the  girls  were  hurrying  in,  and  somehow  Kathie 
passed  on  with  them.  Fifteen  minutes  after,  the 
French  class  was  summoned. 

"  You  must  write  your  translation  over  for  to- 
morrow.  Miss  Thome ;  and  yours,  ^liss  Hadden,  is 
not  very  perfect ;  a  little  revision  would  improve  it." 

Much  as  she  disdained  the  patient  governess  at 
home,  Belle  found  her  very  useful 

Kathie  kept  out  of  Lottie's  way.  It  looked  rather 
mean  to  her,  but  it  was  better  than  an  open  refusal 

The  trial  came  the  next  day,  however.  To  Lottie's 
great  delight,  she  was  invited  to  the  party,  and  her 
head  had  been  so  full  of  it  that  all  the  lessons  suf- 
fered. She  was  casting  about  in  her  mind  what  she 
could  have  new,  or  what  could  be  altered  to  look  Kke 
new. 

"  0  Kathie  ! "  she  exclaimed  at  recess,  "  just  help 
me  out  with  these  few  lines.  I  made  so  many  blun- 
ders yesterday,  and  I  was  so  busy  last  evening." 

"  You  remember  what  Mrs.  Wilder  said  on  Tues- 


THORNS  IN  THE  PATH.  157 

day."  Kathie's  heart  beat  rapidly  with  the  effort, 
and  she  felt  quite  inclined  to  run  away  like  a  little 
coward. 

"What?  — 0,  about  asking  her!  but  then  she 
never  tells  one  anything.  You  might,  I  am  sure ; 
or  if  you  will  just  let  me  read  over  your  transla- 
tion." 

"  It  would  not  be  quite  fair."  Kathie's  tone  was 
rather  slow  and  hesitating. 

«  You  need  n't  be  so  afraid !  I  should  not  copy," 
was  the  sharp  answer.     "  Just  tell  me  this  case." 

One  answer  surely  would  not  be  a  crime. 

"  And  this  line ;  I  can't  make  beginning  nor  end 
of  it." 

"I  am  sorry,  Lottie;  but  Mrs.  Wilder  said  the 
girls  were  not  to  help  each  other  so  much,  —  that 
each  one  was  to  get  her  own  translation  —  " 

"  Well,  I  mean  to  get  my  own ;  I  just  asked  you  a 
question.     You  are  very  short  and  hateful  about  it ! " 

"  0  Lottie,  I  do  not  want  to  disobey  Mrs.  Wilder  ! 
I  would  help  you  if  I  could  —  if  it  was  right."  Kathie 
uttered  the  words  hurriedly,  as  if  after  a  moment  she 
should  not  have  the  courage  to  say  them  at  all. 

"  You  arc  setting  up  for  a  saint,  we  all  know  ;  and 


158  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

it  is  very  convenient  to  talk  about  right  when  one 
means  to  be  cross  and  disobliging  !  I  would  do  any- 
thing /  could  for  a  friend,  I  am  sure." 

Kathie  was  silent.  She  knew  by  experience  that 
Lottie  had  a  habit  of  teasiag  until  she  accomplished 
her  purpose. 

"  So  you  really  won't  do  that  little  favor  ?  " 

"  Mss  Alston ! "  called  one  of  the  girls  ;  and  Ka- 
thie was  glad  to  go. 

Lottie  dropped  two  or  three  tears  of  mortification 
and  disappointment.  She  had  come  to  depend  a 
great  deal  upon  Kathie,  and  it  was  hard  doing  with- 
out the  help.  "  She  is  a  hateful  little  thing,  after  all," 
was  her  internal  comment. 

Belle  Hadden  let  her  look  over  her  translation 
"just  a  moment."  Lottie  had  a  quick  eye  and  a  good 
memory;  but  the  lesson  was  not  so  perfect  that  it 
could  escape  Mrs.  Wilder's  attention. 

"  Please  take  a  little  more  pains,  Miss  Thorne," 
she  said ;  "  I  shall  have  to  mark  you  for  both 
days." 

Coming  out  of  school,  they  paused,  in  girl  fashion, 
to  say  a  few  last  words.  A  rather  rusty-looking 
rockaway  wagon    passed   by,   in    wliich   were    two 


THORNS  IN  THE  PATH.  159 

females,  one  of  whom  was  driving.  The  other 
leaned  out  suddenly,  with  a  cry  of  joy :  "  0  Miss 
Katliie  !     Mother,  stop,  —  do  !  " 

Katliie  colored  a  little.  There  was  the  identical 
purple  bonnet  and  red  roses,  and  Sarah  Ann  had  two 
long  rooster-feathers  stuck  in  her  jockey  hat,  which 
certainly  were  waving  in  the  breeze  rather  ungrace- 
fully ;  but  the  child  went  straight  up  to  the  wagon, 
thrusting  aside  the  cowardly  shame. 

"  I  'm  so  glad  to  see  you !  Do  you  go  to  school 
there  ?  0  my  !  what  a  lot  of  —  young  ladies  !  "  and 
Sai-ali  blushed.  "There  's  the  one  that  laughed  at 
mother  when  we  were  at  the  Fair  !  Do  you  like 
her  ? " 

"  We  are  all  schoolmates,  you  know,"  said  Kathie, 
in  a  peculiar,  but  gentle  tone.  "  Are  you  well  ? 
This  is  quite  a  surprise  ! " 

"You  are  a  good,  sensible  gal,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Strong,  with  a  meaning  look,  which  showed  Ka- 
thie that  she  was  not  so  deficient  in  perception, 
after  all. 

"  0  yes  !  How  is  your  uncle  ?  Jim  thinks  he  's 
just  splendid  !  We  did  have  such  a  nice  time  that 
day !      I  Ve  commenced  a  long  letter  to  you,  and 


160  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

I  Ve  read  both  books  aloud.  We  liked  the  story  so 
much  !  and  I  cried  over  the  Evangeline,  —  I  could 
n't  help  it,  I  'm  so  glad  to  have  the  picture !  Was 
n't  it  sad  ? "  and  the  ready  tears  came  into  Sarah's 
eyes. 

"It  *s  a  real  pleasure  to  meet  you";  and  Mrs. 
Strong's  face  softened  to  a  motherly  glow.  "I  *ve 
come  down  to  get  a  cousin  whose  husband  was  killed 
in  Tennessee  fightin',  and  the  poor  thing  's  a'most 
begged  her  way  back  with  one  little  child,  so  I  want' 
her  to  come  up  and  make  a  good  visit  while  she  's 
gettin'  over  the  worst.  Sez  I  to  father,  '  We  ain*t 
suffered  any  from  the  war,  and  gettin'  good  prices  all 
the  time  for  farmin'  truck,  and  it 's  a  pity  if  we  can't 
make  it  a  little  easier  for  them  who  have.'  She  was 
such  a  nice  young  gal,  and  used  to  teach  school  there 
at  Middleville;  but  she 's  seen  sights  o'  trouble  sence. 
And  then  Sary  Ann  begged  to  come,  'cause  her  father 
give  her  money  to  buy  a  new  gown." 

"And  I  coaxed  mother  to  go  to  your  house,  but  she 
would  n't,"  said  Sarah,  shyly.  "  I  wanted  to  hear 
something  about  you  so  much  !     I  'm  so  glad  ! " 

"  And  so  am  I,"  returned  Kathie,  warmly. 

Plain  and  unrefined  as  ]\Irs.  Strong  was,  she  had  a 


THORNS  IN  THE  PATH.  '  161 

good,  generous  heart.  "  AVe  must  not  keep  Miss  Ka- 
thie  standin'  here  in  the  cold,"  she  said.  "Which 
way  you  goin'  ?  " 

"Straight  on  to  Crosby  Street." 

"I  wish  you  'd  jump  in  and   ride." 

"  0  do  ! "  pleaded  Sarah. 

The  girls  had  pretty  well  dispersed.  Even  Emma 
Lauriston  was  walking  slowly  down  the  street.  Ka- 
thie  declined  at  first,  but  they  urged  so  strongly  that 
finally  she  acceded;  and,  driving  slowly,  they  had 
quite  a  nice  talk,  though  Mrs.  Strong  insisted  upon 
taking  her  nearly  home,  as  their  shopping  was  all 
done. 

But  the  episode  had  not  been  suffered  to  pass 
unremarked. 

"What  an  elegant  turnout ! "  sneered  Belle  Hadden. 
"  Some  of  Katliie  Alston's  country  relations,  I  sup- 
pose." 

"  No,"  answered  Lottie,  "  it  is  some  people  she  met 
at  the  Fair." 

"^^^lat  horrid  taste,  —  and  what  coarse,  uncouth 
creatures !      Who   is   Kathie   Alston,   anyhow  ?      A 
decided  parvenu,  to  my  thinking.     Are  they  really 
rich,  —  the  Alstons  ? " 
11 


162  •  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"No,  it  is  Kathie's  uncle,  Mr.  Conover.  He 
made  a  fortune  off  in  Australia,  I  believe.  They 
were  poor  enough  before  ! "  Lottie  uttered  this  ra- 
ther spitefully.  Kathie's  refusal  to  assist  her  that 
noon  still  rankled  in  her  mind. 

"  Did  they  live  here  then  ? " 

"  O  yes  !  in  one  of  a  row  of  little  cottages ;  and 
Mrs.  Alston  had  to  sew  for  a  living." 

The  murder  was  out.  Lottie  had  a  misgiving  that 
this  was  decidedly  mean  and  treacherous ;  and  yet, 
she  said  to  hei^elf,  it  was  every  word  true.  Why 
should  the  Alstons  be  ashamed  of  it  ?  Only  it  did 
seem  mortifying. 

"  This  is  just  about  what  I  thought.  Kathie  Als- 
ton has  n't  a  bit 'of  style  or  dignity ;  and  how  they 
do  dress  her  !  There  was  some  common  linen  edging 
on  that  ruffle  she  wore  to-day,  and  I  don't  believe 
she  ever  has  more  than  two  dresses  at  the  same  time. 
Plebeian  blood  will  tell.  Hattie  Norman  asked  me 
about  them,  but  I  told  her  Kathie  was  only  a  little 
clut  that  she  would  n't  care  to  invite.  I  don't  sup- 
pose they  let  her  go  to  parties,  or  that  she  knows 
how  to  dance.  What  is  the  inside  of  their  house 
Hke?" 


THORNS  IN  THE  PATH.  1C3 

"  It  is  very  beautiful." 

"  Tawdry  and  cheap,  I  fancy.  Such  people  have 
no  taste.  Tliere  is  a  great  deal  in  birth.  My  mother 
was  one  of  the  Van  Cortlands,  of  New  York,  —  real 
old  blue  blood  ;  and  I  can  always  tell  commoners.  I 
wish  there  could  be  some  distinction  here." 

"  Mrs.  Alston  is  considered  very  ladylike,"  said 
Lottie,  with  a  touch  of  remorse. 

"  By  people  who  are  no  judges,  I  suppose.  And 
Mrs.  Wilder  treats  Kathie  as  if  she  were  the  greatest 
lady  in  the  land !  I  think  we  ought  to  put  her 
down.  Where  I  went  to  boarding-school  we  had 
two  parties,  —  patricians  and  plebeians,  —  and  the 
plebeians  were  made  to  keep  their  places.  There 
ought  to  be  just  such  a  distinction 'here.  The  idea 
of  being  intimate  with  a  girl  whose  mother  has 
worked  for  a  living!  Why,  we  should  n't  think 
of  recognizing  our  dressmaker  in  society ! " 

This  sounded  quite  grand  to  foolish  Lottie.  That 
she  was  considered  good  enough  to  go  to  the  Nor- 
mans' to  a  party  was  a  great  thing.  And  then 
Lottie  remembered  about  some  great-grandmother 
of  hers,  who  had  belonged  to  the  French  nobility, 
and  escaped  during  one  of  the  revolutions.     Did  n't 


164  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

that  make  her  blood  a  little  blue  ?•  If  it  would  only 
make  the  French  exercises  come  easy  as  well ! 

Lottie  scarcely  noticed  Kathie  the  next  day.  It  was 
rainy,  and  the  "patricians"  lingered  about  the  stove, 
discussing  the  Norman  party.  Eight  or  ten  played 
blind-man's-buff  in  the  walk,  and  had  a  gay  time, 
bringing  the  roses  to  their  cheeks. 

Two  or  three  of  them  had  bantered  Kathie  a  little 
about  her  "  friends,"  but  she  accepted  it  in  a  very 
good-natured  way. 

A  day  or  two  after,  Emma  Lauriston  took  her 
drawing  over  to  the  window  where  it  was  lighter,  and 
stiU  lingered  at  the  table  when  school  closed.  After- 
ward they  all  fell  into  a  pleasant  talk. 

"  So  you  have  come  over  to  our  side,"  exclaimed 
Miss  Hadden. 

"  Your  side  ?  "  —  with  a  look  of  surprise. 

"  Yes,  the  patricians." 

Emma  Lauriston  had  always  been  called  proud, 
and  it  was  well  known  that  she  was  to  be  quite  an 
heiress  by  and  by,  her  grandmother  having  left  her  a 
considerable  fortune. 

"  I  think  there  can  be  no  question  about  my  tastes 
or  sympatliies,"  she  said,  rather  haughtily.  "  Eefine- 
ment,  truth,  and  honor  make  my  nobility." 


THORNS   IN   THE   PATH.  165 

"Eefinement  is  absolutely  necessary  to  me,"  re- 
marked Belle,  with  an  elegant  air.  "  Sometimes  I  am 
teased  about  it,  but  all  kinds  of  coarseness  and  vul- 
garity are  odious  to  me,  whether  it  is  in  dress  or 
behavior.  And  loud  voices  or  loud  manners  are 
equally  my  detestation." 

Emma  did  not  dissent.  One  or  two  thoughts  of 
her  own  took  up  her  attention,  and  the  rest  of  the 
talk  seemed  to  float  around  her  like  the  waves  of  a 
distant  sea. 

Kathie  remarked  the  change  very  quickly,  for  she 
was  keenly  sensitive.  That  Lottie  should  be  vexed 
with  her  she  did  not  so  much  w^onder  at,  but  why 
should  the  other  girls  shun  her  ?  She  certainly  had 
done  nothing  to  them.  And  it  gave  her  a  pang  to  see 
some  small  circle  fall  apart  when  she  joined  it,  each 
girl  giving  knowing  glances  to  the  others.  Then, 
too,  she  was  left  out  of  the  plays  and  talks,  and 
though  they  did  nothing  absolutely  rude,  she  seemed 
to  understand  that  there  was  a  kind  of  social  ostra- 
cism, and  she  was  being  pushed  over  to  the  side  she 
did  not  admire,  —  to  the  half-dozen  rather  coarse  girls. 

Belle  was  not  slow  in  spreading  abroad  the  report. 
The  Alstons  were  mushroom  aristocracy.      Nobody 


166  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

knew  Iwiv  the  uncle  had  made  his  fortune.  People 
did  everything  in  Australia,  —  robbed,  cheated,  even 
murdered.  And  IVIrs.  Alston  had  actually  sewed  for 
a  living  ! 

Yet  it  must  be  confessed  that  these  very  girls 
fairly  envied  her  the  pony  phaeton  and  the  elegant 
house. 

"  Uncle  Eobert  is  coming  home,"  said  her  mother, 
one  afternoon.  "  We  have  received  a  good  long  letter 
from  him,  and  some  news  that  will  surprise  you." 

Kathie's  face  was  aglow  mth  interest. 

"  You  may  read  it  all  yourseK.  He  had  not  time 
to  write  any  more  than  one  letter." 

Kathie  sat  down  to  her  treasure. 

"  0  mamma  !  And  Miss  Jessie  is  married  to  — 
Mr.  Meredith  !  AVhat  will  Ada  say  ?  But  0,  will 
he  never  get  well  ?  It  would  be  harder  than  ever  to 
have  him  die.  How  strange  it  seems  !  Dear  ^Miss 
Jessie  ! " 

The  doctors  had  conquered  the  fever,  but  there 
were  some  serious  complications  mth  his  wound, 
and  he  was  so  reduced  that  it  appeared  almost  impos- 
sible for  him  to  rally.  Kathie  could  see  that  Uncle 
Kobert  had  very  little  hope. 


THORNS   IN   THE   PATH.  1G7 

"  Still  he  is  very  happy  and  resigned,"  the  letter 
said.  "  Since  his  marriage  he  seems  to  have  not  a 
wish  left  ungratitied.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Meredith 
were  present,  and  the  lady  was  considerably  surprised 
by  this  unlooked-for  termination  ;  still,  she  was  very 
gi*acious  to  Jessie,  But  the  best  of  all  is  his  perfect 
peace  and  trust.  A  precious  hope  the  Saviour's  love 
has  been,  and  in  his  mind  his  whole  brief  religious 
life  seems  connected  with  our  darling  little  Kathie. 
Every  day  he  speaks  of  her.  It  is  true  that  God  has 
ordained  praise  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes." 

The  loving  messages  brouglit  the  tears  to  Kathie's 
eyes.  And  most  delightful  of  all  was  the  hope  of 
seeing  dear  Uncle  Eobert  again.  So  for  two  days 
satirical  school  shafts  fell  harmless. 

Eob  had  a  flying  visit  first  of  all,  but  the  joy  at 
Cedarwood  was  delightful.  Uncle  Eobert  reached 
home  just  at  dusk,  and  Kathie  could  do  nothing  all 
the  evening  but  watch  him  and  talk.  All  the  story 
had  to  be  told  over  again,  and  with  it  many  incidents 
that  could  not  be  writtcD,  —  the  heroic  bravery,  tlie 
patient  endurance  and  sweet  faith. 

"  Then  he  is  not  sorry  that  he  re-enlisted  ? "  Kathie 
asked,  anxiously. 


168  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"No,  my  darling.  He  tliinks  that  his  country 
needed  him,  and  his  last  act  was  to  procure  some 
very  valuable  information.  He  would  like  to  live  if  it 
is  God's  will,  but  it  will  be  well  with  him  either  way." 

Uncle  Robert  held  the  little  hand  in  his  and  gave 
it  a  fond  pressure.  Kathie  knew  what  it  said,  but 
her  heart  felt  very  humble. 

The  next  morning  she  had  to  tell  him  about  Sarah 
Strong. 

"  And  how  kind  it  is  in  Mrs.  Strong  to  take  home 
this  poor  cousin  ! "  Kathie  said.  "  I  liked  her  manner 
of  speaking  of  it  so  much.     But  I  think  —  " 

Kathie  made  a  long  pause. 

"  A  remarkable  thought  it  must  be ! "  said  her 
uncle,  smiling. 

Fred  ran  in  to  have  his  pencil  sharpened,  and  also 
to  announce  that  one  of  the  cunning  little  guinea- 
pigs  was  dead.  So  Kathie's  school  discomfort  passed 
out  of  her  mind. 

But  it  met  her  on  the  threshold  again.  She  was 
rather  early  at  school,  as  Uncle  Eobert  wished  to 
drive  about  the  village  to  do  several  errands. 

HaK  a  dozen  girls  were  discussing  tableaux. 
Kathie  joined  them  with  a  face  full  of  interest. 


THORNS   IN   THE   PATH.  169 

"  0,"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  do  love  to  hear  about 
tableaux  !     Are  you  really  going  to  have  them  ?  " 

There  was  a  coolness  and  silence  in  the  small 
circle. 

"  It  was  a  little  matter  of  our  own  that  we  were 
discussing,"  said  Belle  Hadden,  loftily. 

Kathie  turned.  She  had  been  in  such  a  happy 
mood  that  she  was  ready  for  anything.  And  the  two 
or  three  experiences  in  tableaux  had  left  such  a  de- 
lightful memory  that  she  was  fain  to  try  it  again. 

She  went  to  her  seat  quietly.  The  voices  floated 
dimly  over  to  her. 

"  It  is  mean  not  to  ask  her  !  " 

"Girls,  I  know  Mrs.  Wilder  will  notice  it,  and 
speak  of  it." 

"  You  can  all  do  as  you  like,  but  if  you  want  Tom, 
Dick,  and  Harry,  and  everybody  in  them,  I  beg  leave 
to  be  excused,"  said  a  rather  sharp,  haughty  voice. 

"But  Kathie  Alston  is  n't—  " 

"  I  would  as  soon  have  Mary  Carson,  or  any  one  of 
that  class.     They  are  all  alike." 

Mary  Carson's  father  had  made  a  fortune  in  buy- 
ing and  selling  iron.  She  was  as  coarse  as  Sarah 
Strong,  without  her  ambition  or  good,  tender  heart. 


170  KATHIFS   SOLDIERS. 

Somehow  Kathie  rebelled  at  being  placed  in  the 
same  category.  She  took  up  her  book  and  tried  to 
study,  but  her  heart  was  swelling  with  a  sense  of  in- 
justice. ^Miat  had  she  done  to  these  girls  ?  She 
was  not  coarse,  or  vuls^ar,  or  mean. 

"Plebeian  and  patrician,"  some  one  said  with  a 
laugh,  as  they  dispersed  at  Mrs.  Wilder's  entrance. 

Kathie  heard  of  the  plan  through  the  course  of  the 
day.  Some  of  the  larger  girls  had  proposed  that 
they  should  give  a  little  entertainment  for  the  benefit 
of  the  wife  and  children  of  a  Captain  Duncan  who 
had  been  killed  in  one  of  the  recent  battles.  ]\Irs. 
Duncan  was  staying  at  Brookside,  quite  prostrated 
by  her  misfortunes. 

Thirteen  of  the  school-girls  had  been  asked.  JVIrs. 
Coleman,  Mrs.  Duncan's  warmest  friend,  had  offered 
her  parlor  and  dining-room.  Sue  Coleman  was  hand 
and  glove  with  Belle  Hadden. 

Now  and  then  Kathie  glanced  over  to  Mary  Car- 
son. Vulgarity  was  written  in  every  line  of  her 
broad,  freckled  face.  Something  beside  plainness, — 
snub  nose,  wiry  brown  hair,  and  the  irregular  teeth, 
which  looked  as  if  they  were  never  brushed,  —  an 
air  of   self-sufficiency,  as  if   she  considered  herself 


THORNS   IN   THE   PATH.  171 

as  good  as  the  best.  She  was  continually  talking  of 
what  they  had  at  home,  and  made  the  most  absurd 
blimders,  which  Mrs.  Wilder  patiently  corrected. 
The  small  satires  of  the  other  girls  never  pierced  the 
armor  of  her  complacency.  "And  they  think  me 
like  her ! "  Kathie  mused,  with  a  sad,  sore  heart.  "  I 
suppose  because  our  fortune  came  so  suddenly ;  and 
yet  mamma  always  was  a  lady.  However,  I  must 
bear  it  patiently." 

Uncle  Eobert,  seeing  her  so  grave,  fancied  that 
it  was  on  account  of  Mr.  Meredith ;  and  he  was  so 
busy  that  for  a  few  days  they  had  no  confidential 
talks. 

It  was  very  hard  to  feel  so  entirely  alone.  Even 
Emma  Lauriston  was  at  home  sick  with  a  sore  throat. 


172  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 


CHAPTER    X. 

UNDER  FIRE. 

Emma  Laueiston  was  absent  from  school  three  days, 
and  then  took  her  place,  looking  somewhat  pale 
and  languid;  but  several  of  the  girls  were  rather 
impatient  to  see  her. 

"  Have  you  heard  bad  news  ? "  she  asked  of  Ka- 
thie.     "  My  cousin  said  your  uncle  had  returned." 

"Yes,"  in  a  grave  tone,  rather  unlike  the  sun- 
shiny Kathie. 

"That  was  quite  a  romance  about  your  friend 
IVIiss  Darrell.  Do  they  think  Mr.  Meredith  will 
—  never  get  well  ?  " 

"They  are  afraid." 

The  little  bell  sounded  to  call  them  to  order,  and 
then  began  the  usual  lessons.  Kathie's  were  always 
perfect,  and  yet,  oddly  enough,  it  seemed  to  Emma 
that  her  whole  heart  was  not  in  them. 

She  had  fallen  into  the  habit  of  watching  Kathie 
very  narrowly.    The  "  something  different  from  other 


UNBF.T^    FTRK.  173 

girls  "  was  still  a  puzzle  to  lior ;  and  when  the  doctor 
had  said,  a  few  days  ago,  "  You  just  missed  having  a 
severe  attack  of  diphtheria,"  it  startled  Emma  a  good 
deal.  She  knew  several  who  had  died  of  diphtheria ; 
and  if  she  were  to  die  — 

Of  course  she  wanted  to  live.  She  was  young, 
and  full  of  hope  ;  and  there  would  be  the  fortune  by 
j^na  by,  —  one  of  those  odd  bequests  of  which  she 
reaped  little  benefit  now,  as  it  was  to  go  on  accumu- 
lating until  she  was  twenty-one  ;  but  then  she  would 
be  able  to  do  a  great  many  delightful  things  with  it. 
That  was  not  all,  however.  There  was  something 
very  terrible  in  the  idea  of  death. 

"  0  Miss-  Lauriston,  we  have  ever  so  much  to  tell 
you  and  to  talk  about!"  exclaimed  Sue  Coleman. 
"  We  are  o-oing  to  have  some  tableaux  for  a  charita- 
ble object,  and  we  want  you  to  stand  in  several  of 
them.  You  will  make  such  a  lovely  Sister  of  Charity 
in  Consolation." 

With  that  the  ball  was  fairly  opened.  Emma  was 
pleased  and  interested  at  once. 

"You  are  all  to  come  over  to  my  house  after 
school.  Belle  Hadden  has  planned  everything.  She 
is  a  host  in  herself." 


174  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Katliie  had  been  walking  up  and  down  with  two 
or  three  girls  that  she  did  not  care  much  about,  only 
they  had  joined  her,  and  were,  perhaps,  better  com- 
pany than  her  lonely  thoughts. 

"  You  are  going  over  to  Mrs.  Coleman's,  —  are  you 
not  ?  "  asked  Emma,  in  surprise.  "  Don't  you  like 
tableaux  ? " 

"  Very  much,  but  —  Good  by  " ;  and  Kathie  made 
a  feint  of  kissing  her  hand. 

"  Girls,  have  n't  you  asked  Kathie  Alston  ? "  ex- 
claimed Emma,  in  the  first  lull,  for  the  talk  had  been 
very  energetic ;  "  she  would  make  up  lovely  in  ever 
so  many  characters." 

There  was  a  silence,  and  the  girls  glanced  at  each 
other  with  determination  in  their  faces. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  Has  she  offended  you  ?  1 
noticed  something  a  little  peculiar  in  school  to-day." 

"  Kathie  Alston  is  well  enough  —  in  her  place." 

Emma  colored.  "  Her  place  is  as  good  as  any  of 
Q,urs,  I  suppose,"  she  made  answer,  slowly. 

"  Well,  I  don't  quite  think  it  is  " ;  and  Belle  took  up 
the  glove.  "  There  are  some  social  distinctions  —  " 
The  rest  of  the  sentence  was  rather  troublesome. 

"  I  am  sure  the  Alstons  are  rich,  if  that  is  what 
you  mean." 


UNDER   HRE.  175 

"  Tliat  is  not  altogether  what  I  mean  " ;  yet  Belle 
was  a  trifle  embarrassed  at  being  forced  to  meet  the 
issue  so  squarely,  though  every  girl  felt  in  her  secret 
soul  that  Emma  was  undeniably  aristocratic.  "  If  we 
are  to  take  up  everybody  who  becomes  suddenly  rich, 
tliere  is  Mary  Carson  and  several  others ;  and  I  Ve 
never  been  used  to  it.  Mamma  is  particular  about 
my  associates." 

"  But  the  Alstons  are  educated,  refined,  and  were 
always  wealthy  until  they  met  with  a  reverse  of  for- 
tune when  Mr.  Alston  died." 

"And  Mrs.  Alston  used  to  sew  for  th6  whole 
neighborhood,  I  've  heard.  Fancy  being  compelled 
to  meet  your  seamstress  as  an  —  an  equal !  Mrs. 
"Wilder  ought  to  be  more  exclusive  about  her  schol- 
ars. Mamma  said  so  herself.  And  only  a  few  days 
ago  some  horrid  county  clowns  stopped  right  in 
front  of  the  school,  and  she  went  off  to  take  a  ride 
in  their  forlorn  old  wagon.  Our  cook  is  actually 
related  to  these  people  !  Their  name  is  Strong,  —  a 
coarse,  vulgar  set,  I  know." 

Belle  talked  very  rapidly,  and  her  face  flushed  ^\dth 
excitement.  For  several  moments  Emma  hesitated. 
Tlie   distinction  appeared  paltry  and  mean  to  her. 


176  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Then  she  really  did  like  Kathie.  "Girls,"  she  be- 
gan, at  length,  "I  think  you  are  unjust.  I  have 
been  at  Cedarwood,  and  met  all  the  family.  They 
are  refined,  intelligent,  have  a  lovely  home,  and  are 
—  truly  noble  and  Christian  people."  Emma  ut- 
tered the  last  in  spite  of  herself. 

"  Well,  every  one  can  do  as  she  likes  "  ;  and  Belle 
gave  her  head  a  haughty  toss.  "  I  don't  think  be- 
cause a  man  digs  up  a  nugget  of  gold  in  Australia  he 
is  entitled  to  a  king's  position  at  once.  There  are 
some  girls  at  school  that  I  should  not  associate  with 
under  any  circumstances." 

Emma  had  a  feeling  that  this  was  really  absurd ; 
yet  most  of  the  girls  had  ranged  themselves  on  tliis 
side,  and  it  did  require  a  good  deal  of  courage  to  go 
against  the  opinions  of  her  mates  and  friends.  Still, 
when  she  came  to  think  of  it,  Mrs.  Grayson  visited 
the  Alstons,  the  Darrells  were  their  firm  friends,  and 
that  rich  and  elegant  Mr.  Meredith  !  But  Kathie 
was  rather  inclined  to  be  hand  and  glove  with  people 
beneath  her. 

"  And  Katliie  Alston  does  take  up  everybody,"  said 
one  of  the  girls.  "  Every  few  days  you  see  her  hav- 
ing some  common  thing  in  that  pony-phaeton  of  hers. 


[ 


t*  UNDER  FIRE.  177 

She  has  n't  a  bit  of  pride  or  good  taste,  and  it  seems 
to  me  that  is  next  of  kin  to  refinement." 

"  Let  us  go  on  with  the  tableaux." 

Emma  listened  to  the  arrangements  in  silence. 
This  made  such  a  beautiful  scene,  —  that  was  so 
brilliant,  or  so  pathetic,  and  must  not  be  left  out. 
And  before  they  were  aware  the  dusky  evening 
dropped  down  about  them. 

"  Girls,"  she  said  at  length,  in  a  soft,  low  voice, 
"  I  have  decided  that  I  will  not  take  part  in  the 
tableaux.  Kathie  Alston  and  I  have  been  friends, 
and  I  shall  do  nothing  that  I  am  quite  sure  to  be 
ashamed  of  afterward.  You  have  been  very  kind  to 
ask  me,  and  I  am  not  angry  with  any  of  the  opinions 
I  have  heard  expressed,  though  they  may  not  please 
me.     Good  night." 

"  Let  her  go  over  to  the  plebeians ! "  said  some  one, 
with  a  laugh.  , 

At  home  Kathie  had  two  pleasant  surprises.  First, 
a  letter  from  IVIiss  Jessie  all  to  herself,  in  which  they 
hoped,  very  faintly  indeed,  that  Mr.  Meredith  liad 
taken  a  turn  for  the  better.  If  the  good  news  should 
prove  true,  they  meant,  as  soon  as  it  would  be  safe, 
to  remove  to  a  private  house.     And  then  she  said, 

12 


178  kathie's  soldiers.  a 

"  My  darling  little  Kathie,  we  often  feel  that  we  would 
give  half  the  world  to  see  you." 

The  other  was  from  Sarah,  —  a  decided  improve- 
ment upon  her  Christmas  epistle,  —  not  a  word  mis- 
spelled, and  the  sentences  veiy  fairly  constructed. 
The  last  part  was  filled  with  Cousin  Ellen  and  her 
little  boy.  Sarah  told  the  whole  story  in  her  inno- 
cence, without  the  least  intention  of  boasting.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Strong  had  offered  these  poor  wayfarers  a 
home  until  they  could  do  better. 

"  It  is  very  good  of  them,  —  is  n't  it  ?  "  said  Ka- 
thie. "  If  the  Strongs  are  not  polished,  they  have 
generous  hearts." 

"  It  certainly  is  most  kind ;  and  I  am  wonderfully 
pleased  with  the  improvement  in  Sarah." 

"  Uncle  Eobert,  would  it  be  rude  to  send  Sarah 
a  pretty  blue  hair-ribbon,  and  tell  her  a  little  about 
contrasting  colore?  I  wish  she  would  not  wear  so 
much  scarlet.  Is  it  wrong  for  eveiybody  to  look 
as  pretty  as  he  or  she  can  ? " 

"  No,  my  dear ;  and  sometimes  a  delicate  hint 
proves  very  useful.  Sarah  has  entirely  too  much 
color  for  scarlet;  she  needs  something  to  tone  her 
down." 


UNDER   FIRE.  179 

Kathie  had  been  casting  about  for  some  time  how 
to  manage  this  matter  nicely,  and  her  present  idea 
appeared  both  delicate  and  feasible  to  her.  Looking 
over  her  store,  she  found  a  fresh,  pretty  ribbon,  and 
forgot  all  about  the  school  trouble. 

The  tableaux  progressed  rapidly.  A  number  of 
the  Academy  boys  were  invited  to  join.  Mr.  Cole- 
man had  some  tickets  printed,  which  sold  rapidly, 
and  tlie  affair  promised  to  be  successful 

But  one  evening  Dick  Grayson  said,  "  Emma 
Lauriston  w^ould  look  prettier  in  Consolation,  and 
make  the  best  Evangeline,  of  any  girl  in  Brookside. 
Why  have  n't  you  asked  her  and  Kathie  Alston  ? " 

"  Emma  declined,"  was  the  almost  abrupt  answer. 

"  But  Kathie  is  the  sweetest  little  girl  I  ever  saw. 
She  is  always  ready  for  everything." 

There  was  no  response.  Belle  Hadden  had  gone 
quite  too  far  to  admit  that  her  line  of  distinction  had 
been  wrongly  drawn.  Lottie  Thome  felt  both  sorry 
and  ashamed ;  but  there  was  no  going  back  without 
a  rather  humiliating  admission.  And  yet  if  she  only 
had  not  spoken  that  day  ! 

But  Emma  and  Kathie  drew  nearer  together  in  a 
quiet  way  through  tlicse  troubled  times.     Tliere  were 


180  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

some  petty  sHghts  to  endure,  and  many  unkindnesses. 
Friends  and  companions  can  wound  each  other  so 
often  in  a  noiseless  manner,  —  pain  and  sting  mthout 
the  buzzing  of  a  wasp,'  so  patent  to  all  the  world,  — 
and  I  often  think  these  unseen  hurts  are  the  hardest 
to  bear. 

The  evening  at  ]\Irs.  Coleman's  was  both  delightful 
and  profitable.  The  Brookside  Standard  contained 
quite  a  glowing  account  of  the  entertainment,  and 
praised  the  yoimg  ladies  for  their  labor  in  so  good  a 
cause.  The  sum  received,  with  several  donations, 
amounted  to  eighty-seven  dollars. 

"  Why  did  you  not  speak  of  it,  Kathie  ? "  asked 
Uncle   Eobert.     "We  would  all  have  gone." 

Now,  there  had  not  been  even  a  ticket  offered  to 
Kathie.  Indeed,  the  space  being  limited.  Sue  and 
Belle  had  made  out  a  list  of  guests  beforehand. 

Katliie  colored  violently,  and  Uncle  Eobert  looked 
quite  astonished.  Seeing  that  she  was  expected  to 
answer,  she  summoned  her  courage. 

"  It  was  a  —  a  party  affair  of  the  larger  girls  in 
school.     They  did  not  ask  every  one." 

"  But  we  might  have  sent  a  gift,  the  object  was 
so  very  worthy." 


UNDER   FIRE.  181 

Katliie  made  no  reply  to  that.  Uncle  Eobcrt 
studied  the  grave  face,  and  decided  that  sometliing 
had  gone  wrong. 

Dick  Grayson  dropped  in  that  evening.  "  I  was  so 
disappointed  about  your  not  being  there,"  he  said. 
*'  You  would  just  have  fitted  in  two  or  three  of  the 
tableaux." 

But  Kathie  did  not  appear  to  be  disposed  to  con- 
verse on  the  subject,  so  they  wandered  off  into  a  talk 
about  Eob,  and  then  Mr.  Meredith  claimed  their  at- 
tention. 

The  patricians  flourished  in  grand  style.  It  w^ould 
have  been  really  laughable  to  sensible  people  to  see 
how  one  after  another  copied  Belle  Hadden's  airs  and 
graces,  and  how  the  gulf  widened  in  school.  Several 
of  the  girls  asked  to  have  their  seats  changed,  until 
the  plebeians  were  left  quite  to  themselves. 

And  yet  the  matter  worked  out  a  very  odd  and 
rather  mortifying  retaliation.  One  afternoon  Dick 
Grayson  overtook  Emma  Lauriston  walking  home- 
ward. He  had  that  day  received  a  letter  from  her 
brother  Fred,  and  repeated  some  of  the  contents. 

"Are  you  going  to  Belle  Hadden's  party?"  he 
asked,  presently. 


182  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"I  have  not  had  any  invitation."  Emma's  tone 
was  rather  curt. 

"  No  ? "  in  the  utmost  surprise.  "  What  has  hap- 
pened among  you  girls  ?  You  and  Kathie  were  not 
at  the  tableaux.     Is  there  a  standing  quarrel  ?  " 

Dick  and  Emma  were  excellent  friends  in  boy-and- 
girl  fashion. 

"There  is  something  very  mean  and  foolish.  I 
wish  somebody  could  look  at  it  with  clear  eyes  and 
give  Belle  Hadden  a  lesson ! " 

Emma's  usually  soft  voice  was  indignant,  and  her 
face  crimsoned  with  excitement. 

"  But  how  did  Kathie  Alston  come  to  get  mixed 
up  with  it.  It  seems  to  me  that  she  is  the  last  one 
to  quarrel" 

"  There  was  no  quarrel,  at  least  no  words.  There 
are  some  very  aristocratic  girls  in  school,  and  Belle 
is  forever  talking  about  her  mother's  family.  So  they 
have  divided  the  girls  into  patricians  and  plebeians." 

"  But  Mr.  Conover  is  a  gentleman,  and  the  Alstons 
are  all  refined.  The  idea  of  putting  Kathie  on  the 
plebeian  side  is  absurd  !    And  you  too  —  " 

"  I  went  over  there,"  she  said,  sharply.  "  I  would 
not   take  part    in   the   tableaux    on   that   accountw 


UNDER   FIRE.  183 

Kathie  had  done  nothing  to  them.  It  was  because 
her  mother  used  to  sew,  I  beheve,  and  then  Katliie 
herself  is  not  a  bit  proud.  I  suppose  if  they  made 
a  great  show  and  parade  like  the  Haddens  —  " 

"  I  did  not  think  Belle  was  that  small !  And  you 
are  a  splendid  champion,  Emma.  But  Katliie  is 
worthy  of  the  best  friendship  in  the  world.  She  is 
never  mean  or  envious,  or  looking  out  for  the  best 
places,  and  ^Ir.  Conover  is  just  royal.  The  idea  of 
the  Haddens  setting  themselves  up  !  Wliy,  ^frs. 
Alston  used  to  sew  for  my  mother,  and  mother  is  one 
of  her  warmest  friends.  Is  n't  there  something  very 
unjust  about  girls,  —  some  girls,  I  mean  ?  "  blushing 
as  he  corrected  himseK.  "  And  why  does  not  Mrs. 
Wilder  interfere,  or  is  she  on  the  patrician  side  ? " 

"  Mrs.  Wilder  really  does  n't  know  anything  about 
it.  The  little  hateful  acts  are  done  on  the  sly,  just 
looks  and  tones,  or  some  sentence  that  no  one  can 
take  hold  of.  It  would  seem  silly  to  complain  of 
not  being  noticed.  But  it  takes  away  the  pleasant 
feeling  that  used  to  exist." 

"  And  how  does  Kathie  bear  it  ? " 

"Like  a  little  angel.  It  hurts  her  cruelly  too. 
About  the  time  this  first  began,  some  very  common- 


184  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

looking  people  spoke  to  Kathie  in  tlie  street,  and 
the  girls  have  laughed  and  sneered  at  that.  -Indeed, 
nothing  that  she  does  escapes  them.  I  almost  wish 
that  I  was  n't  a  girl ! " 

"  Boys  don't  badger  a  fellow  that  way,  if  they  did 
there  would  be  some  thrashing !  But  I  know  just 
how  to  come  up  with  Belle  Hadden,  and  I  '11  do  it  !'* 

With  that  Dick  laughed. 

Emma  was  so  much  exasperated  that  the  thought 
rather  delighted  her. 

"What  will  you  do?" 

"  I  can't  tell  you  until  afterward.  Don't  I  wish 
Eob  Alston  was  home,  though !  He  would  enjoy 
the  fun." 

They  separated  at  Emma's  gate.  She  was  not  alto- 
gether sure  that  she  was  right  in  her  desire,  but  she 
determined  not  to  worry  herself  on  that  score. 

Belle's  party  was  to  be  quite  a  grand  affair.  A 
number  of  the  Academy  boys  were  in^dted,  those 
who  were  rich  and  stylish ;  Belle  did  not  come  to 
school  the  next  day,  and  the  girls  were  rather  in- 
discreet without  their  leader. 

The  rooms  were  beautiful,  the  supper  elegant,  the 
music  fine,  but  —  there  were  so  few  young  gentle- 


UNDER   FIRE.  185 

men  !  Not  Dick  Grayson,  nor  Walter  Dorrance,  nor 
Charlie  Darrell,  nor  —  ever  so  many  others  that  had 
been  counted  upon  sure. 

Emma  guessed  as  she  heard  the  floating  talk. 

"  I  do  suppose  BeUe  Hadden  was  as  deeply  mortified 
last  night  as  she  could  be/'  Emma  said  to  Kathie. 
'  If  ever  I  have  another  cause  that  I  want  righted  I 
will  place  it  in  Dick  Grayson's  hand.  He  is  equal 
to  Arthur's  knights." 

"What  did  he  do?" 

"  He  said  he  had  a  plan.  I  know  now  that  it  must 
have  been  to  keep  the  nicest  boys  away  from  the 
party.  Belle  likes  Dick  so  much  too.  It  must  have 
been  worth  seeing,  —  their  disappointment.  A  host 
of  waU-flowers  with  no  one  to  lead  them  out  to 
dance ! " 

"You  did  n't  ask  him  to  do  it?"  Kathie's  face 
was  full  of  pain  and  regret. 

"  No,  not  exactly.  Indeed,  I  did  not  know  luhat 
he  meant  to  do,  only  I  was  telling  him  about  Belle 
Hadden's  meanness,  and  he  thought  of  a  way  to  pay 
her  back." 

"  I  am  so  sorry  it  was  —  that  way." 

«  Kathie!" 


186  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  0  Emma  dear,  don't  think  me  ungrateful !  You 
have  stood  by  me  of  your  own  accord,  I  know/"  and 
Kathie  clasped  her  hand.  "  I  am  so  much  obliged  to 
you.  They  had  nothing  against  you  at  first,  and  they 
were  very  sorry  not  to  have  you  at  the  tableaux. 
But  it  always  troubles  me  to  know  that  other  peo- 
ple have  suffered  —  " 

"  Not  when  they  deserve  it,  surely ! " 

"  Always  —  if  it  can  be  helped." 

"  And  you  would  not  have  done  this  ?  You  think 
it  was  not  right  for  me  to  teU  ? " 

What  could  Kathie  say,  —  blame  her  brave  com- 
rade ? 

"  No,  you  do  not  think  it  right.  I  can  see  that  in 
your  face  !  Kathie,  how  can  you  bear  everything 
so  patiently  ? " 

"God  makes  it  aU  right  at  last.  He  asks  us  to 
wait  his  time.  And  though  it  is  very  hard  —  "  Ka- 
thie's  lip  quivered  and  her  voice  grew  unsteady. 

"  It  seems  to  me  this  has  been  the  meanest  tlnng  I 
ever  knew.  You  cannot  guess  what  gave  it  the  first 
start." 

"  Yes.  It  was  while  you  were  sick  that  the  girls 
—  took  a  dislike  to  me.     I  spoke  to  some  people  one 


UNDER   FIRE.  187 

day,  some  friends/'  correcting  herself,  "and  Belle 
laughed  at  them.-  Then  the  girls  talked  about  — 
mamma." 

"  It  was  shameful ! " 

"We  loere  poor,  and  we  had  to  work.  Mamma 
could  not  help  all  that.  And  then  Uncle  Kobert 
came,  and  we  have  been  so  very  happy  ever  since. 
Thinking  6f  it  all,  I  don't  mind  this  little  trouble 
much.  All  that  Belle  says  cannot  make  us  coarse  and 
vulgar  and  ignorant,  and  I  have  been  trying  all  the 
time  to  look  on  the  best  and  brightest  side." 

Emma  put  her  arm  suddenly  around  Kathie. 

"  ^Miat  is  it,"  she  asked,  in  a  husky  voice,  —  "  what 
is  it  that  makes  you  sweet  and  patient  and  tender 
and  forgiving,  always  ready  to  minister  to  others  and 
to  the  poor,  even  if  you  are  laughed  at  and  teased  ? 
Maybe  it 's  the  same  grace  that  takes  away  the  fear  of 
death  !  O,  I  wish  I  knew !  I  wish  I  had  it !  I  am 
sometimes  so  miserable,  Kathie.  Do  you  believe  that 
your  God  could  love  and  pity  me  a  little  ?  " 

" '  Him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out.'" 

It  was  aU  that  Kathie  could  think  of  to  say  as 
Emma  stopped  short  in  her  walk,  trembling,  excited, 
and  tearful. 


188  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

*'But  how  to  come?" 

Kathie  hesitated.  It  seemed  that  she  knew  so 
little  herself,  how  then  could  she  direct  another  ? 
She  remembered  the  other  time  when  she  failed  to 
bear  witness,  and  though  her  shy,  delicate  nature 
shrank  from  anything  like  a  parade  of  her  most 
sacred  feelings,  strength  was  given  her  when  she 
asked  for  it. 

"  I  do  not  know  how  it  is  always  —  "in  her  sweet, 
faltering  voice,  "  but  when  I  first  wanted  to  try  —  to 
be  good,  —  to  follow  Him  even  a  little,  it  was  just  as 
if  I  reached  out  my  hand  and  prayed  him  to  take  it, 
and  kept  close  to  him  by  endeavoring  to  do  what  he 
wishes  —  " 

"  And  you  did  not  have  —  any  great  light  —  " 

"I  had  only  a  love  and  a  desire 'to  obey  him. 
And  it  seemed  as  if  everybody  helped  me,  —  mam- 
ma. Aunt  Euth,  and  Uncle  Eobert.  But  there  is 
always  something  to  overcome,  some  battle  to  fight.* 

"And  I  am  a  pooB>  raw  recruit.  Do  you  tliink 
He  wHl  accept  me,  Kathie  ?  " 

"  Every  one  —  to  the  uttermost." 

They  walked  to  the  corner,  where  their  paths  di- 
verged. 


UNDER   FIRE.  189 

"I  wish  you  would  come  and  see  me,"  Kathie  said, 
with  her  ready  grace.  "  Fred  was  there  occasionally 
last  summer,  and  Uncle  Kobert  liked  him  so  much  !  " 

"  And  you  will  forgive  that  —  revenge  ?  Perhaps 
I  ought  to  have  waited." 

Kathie's  look  was  sufficient,  though  she  could  not 
have  spoken. 

But  the  child  went  home  in  a  gravely  sweet  frame 
of  mind.  She  was  in  a  mood  to  tell  Uncle  Eobert 
the  whole  story  that  evening  ;  but  there  were  several 
guests,  so  there  coidd  be  no  confidences. 

The  next  morning,  after  school  was  opened,  Mrs. 
Wilder  rose  and  told  them  she  had  a  few  words  to  say 
upon  a  subject  that  had  been  a  source  of  much  dis- 
quiet for"  several  days ;  and  then  she  very  kindly  but 
wisely  took  up  the  matter  that  had  so  divided  and 
agitated  the  girls,  and  severely  condemned  the  folly 
of  which  some  of  them  had  been  guilty.  "They 
would  find  as  they  grew  older,"  she  said,  "  that  with 
people  of  culture  and  refinement  social  distinctions 
did  not  depend  so  much  on  a  little  more  or  a  little 
less  money,  but  nobleness  of  soul,  thought,  and  feel- 
ing, —  deeds  that  could  brave  and  endure  the  scrutiny 
of  clear  eyes,  and  not  those  which  must  always  slink 


190  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

away  and  liide  themselves  behind  whispered  insinua- 
tions." 

It  seemed,  after  all,  as  if,  in  some  mysterious 
way,  Mrs.  Wilder  had  learned  all  the  particulars. 
She  mentioned  no  names,  and  did  not  in  the  least 
seek  to  exalt  Kathie ;  but  the  child  knew  by  the  kiss 
and  the  lingering  glance  bestowed  upon  her  that 
afternoon  that  all  her  silence  and  pain  had  been 
appreciated. 

If  BeUe  needed  anything  further  to  lower  her  self- 
esteem,  she  had  it  on  her  return  home.  Mr.  Conover, 
Mrs.  Alston,  and  Mrs.  Grayson  had  met  at  the  house 
of  a  mutual  friend  when  Mrs.  Hadden  happened  to 
caU. 

"Belle,"  she  began,  sharply,  "how  could  you  have 
committed  such  a  blunder  as  to  omit  that  pretty  lit- 
tle Miss  Alston  from  your  party-list  ?  Her  mother 
and  her  uncle  are  very  charming  people,  and  they 
have  a  host  of  elegant  friends  in  New  York.  Mrs. 
Havens  was  here  last  summer  to  visit  them,  and 
those  aristocratic  Merediths  are  warm  friends  of 
theirs.     I  am  so  sorry  it  should  have  happened  1 " 

"  Miss  Alston  is  a  regular  little  Methodist,  —  too 
good  to  go  to  parties,"  returned  Belle,  rather  crossly. 


UNDER  FIRE.  191 

And  so  ended  the  reign  of  the  patricians.  Belle 
somehow  lost  prestige  at  school.  Even  Lottie  began 
to  be  pleasant  again  witli  Kathie,  secretly  hoping  that 
Belle  would  never  repeat  her  unlucky  remark. 

Dick  Gmyson  and  Charlie  had  to  tell  Kathie  one 
evening  how  they  spoiled  a  good  deal  of  the  fun 
at  Belle  Hadden's  party. 

"  I  felt  so  sorry,"  Kathie  said,  gravely. 

"  Well,  you  are  the  queerest  girl  I  ever  saw,"  was 
Charlie's  comment ;  yet  something  inside  told  him 
she  was  a  noble  one  as  well. 

But  the  sweetest  of  all  was  the  talk  with  Uncle 
Eobert. 


192  KATHIE'S  SOLDIEES. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

IN  another's  stead. 

Closer  pressed  the  ranks  of  brave  men  who  were 
to  strike  a  final  blow  for  the  good  cause,  nearer, 
nearer,  marching  on  with  a  steady,  crushing  step. 
The  nation  rejoiced  over  victories,  but  firesides,  from 
palace  to  hovel,  missed  and  mourned  some  dear,  famil- 
iar face,  some  cheerful  voice  that  would  never  speak 
again. 

Kathie  used  to  watch  daily.  The  campaign  was 
growing  more  exciting  as  it  approached  the  end. 
Her  heart  used  to  beat  chokingly  as  she  glanced 
down  the  lists.  And  this  was  what  she  saw  one  day : 
"  Missing,  William  Morrison." 

"  0  mamma  ! "  with  a  quick  ciy,  "  did  you  read 
this  ? " 

Mrs.  Alston  looked.  "  Oh  ! "  she  exclaimed,  T\dth 
sudden  pain.  "  Uncle  Eobert  and  Mr.  Morrison  have 
gone  to  the  nursery  to  select  a  few  more  fruit-trees. 
They  will  doubtless  hear  of  it  at  the  village." 


IN  ANOTHER'S   STEAD.  193 

"  You  do  not  think  —  he  has  been  —  killed  ! " 

Kathie's  face  was  very  pale  and  her  sweet  voice 
faltered. 

"Hardly,"  returned  Mrs.  Alston.  "But  one  can 
never  be  quite  certain  what  becomes  of  the  missing." 

Kathie  put  on  her  shawl  and  hood  presently,  and 
walked  slowly  down  the  winding  drive.  She  had 
not  sufficient  courage  to  enter  the  cottage,  though 
through  the  window  she  saw  Ethel  and  Jamie  hav- 
ing a  game  of  romps.  The  child's  cheeks  were  like 
roses,  and  now  and  then  a  careless  laugh  floated  out 
to  Kathie,  who  shivered  with  something  more  than 
cold. 

Presently  the  wagon  approached  slowly.  When 
Uncle  Robert  caught  sight  of  his  little  niece  he 
sprang  out  and  greeted  her  warmly. 

"  I  have  some  good  news  for  you,  Elitty,"  he  said, 
in  his  bright,  breezy  tone.  "  Mr.  Meredith  is  really 
better.  They  hope  to  bring  him  home  before  long. 
Why  —  is  n't  it  delightful  ? "  seeing  that  she  made 
no  answer. 

"  Yes,  I  am  very,  very  thankful." 

"  But,  Kathie  —  what  has  happened,  little  one  ?  ** 

"  Our  other  soldier  —  " 

13 


194  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  ]Mr.  Morrison  —  0  child,  what  tidings  of  him  ?  '* 

"  There  has  been  another  battle,  and  he  is  —  miss- 
ing." 

"  The  news  might  be  worse  then.  There  is  a-  little 
hope,  so  do  not  despair  at  once." 

Kathie  grasped  his  arm  tighter,  and  they  walked 
nearly  to  the  house  in  silence.  Then  he  said,  "  Of 
what  are  you  tliinking,  my  darling  ?  " 

There  were  tears  in  her  soft,  violet  eyes. 

"  Uncle  Eobert,  what  a  strange  and  solemn  thing 
it  is  to  have  any  one  die  for  you,  —  in  your  stead." 

"  Yes.  I  wonder  if  we  do "  not  sometimes  forget 
the  One  who  died  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  ?  But 
this  brings  it  home  to  you  and  me  in  a  manner 
that  we  shall  always  remember." 

"And,  looking  at  that,  all  our  little  trials  and 
burdens  seem  as  nothing.  I  thought  it  quite  hard 
to  be  treated  so  unjustly  at  school,  but  what  was  it 
compared  with  giving  up  one's  life  ?  " 

"  It  is  something,  my  darling,  when  we  bear  reviling 
from  that  highest  of  all  motives, —  His  sake.  Even 
the  little  steps  are  precious  in  his  sight.  We  are 
not  all  called  upon  to  walk  the  sorrowful  way  he 
trod." 


IK  ANOTHER'S   STEAD.  195 

"  But  poor  little  Ethel ! " 

"  We  promised,  you  know,  to  make  all  tlie  amends 
in  our  power  to  her." 

"  But  it  seems  to  me  that  nothing  could  comfoi-t 
me  if  you  were  gone," 

He  took  the  cold  little  face  in  his  hands,  as  they 
were  standing  on  the  broad  porch  now,  at  the  very 
door. 

"Do  you  love  me  so  well,  my  cliild?  But  we 
must  not  forget  that  those  who  stay  at  home  are 
sometimes  called  from  the  earthly  ranks.  God  asks 
of  us  that  his  will  and  pleasure  shall  be  ours  as 
well." 

"  Yes,  I  know  " ;  but  her  voice  was  quite  faint  as 
he  kissed  her. 

It  was  dusk,  and  as  he  opened  the  door  the  cheer- 
ful light  and  warmth  of  the  hall  were  most  grateful. 
Kathie  gave  a  shiver  as  if  she  were  shaking  off  the 
wintry  cold. 

"  Do  not  anticipate  the  worst,"  he  said,  pleasantly. 
"  To-morrow's  news  may  be  different." 

She  smiled  faintly.  "  I  am  not  a  very  good  soldier, 
after  all,"  she  returned,  with  a  little  faltering  in  her 
tones. 


196  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"My  darling,  when  our  Captain  calls  us  out  to 
fight,  he  always  gives  us  grace  and  strength.  But 
we  must  never  look  away  from  him ;  that  is  part  of 
the  promise."   , 

She  hung  up  her  hood,  smoothed  her  hair,  that  had 
been  blown  about  by  the  wind,  and  went  in  to  sup- 
per. They  aU  talked  a  little  about  Mr.  Morrison, 
but  it  appeared  to  Kathie  that  they  were  wonderfully 
hopeful.  Indeed,  the  news  from  Mr.  Meredith  was 
so  very  encouraging  that  it  seemed  to  dim  the  force 
of  the  other. 

Afterward  Mr.  Conover  went  doAvn  to  the  cottaf^e 
Freddy  brought  his  solitaire-board  to  Kathie. 
.    "  I  've  forgotten  how  it  is  done,"  he  said,  "  and  1 
want  you  to  show  me.     Let  me  take  them  out,  and 
you  just  tell  me  when  I  go  wrong." 

It  reaUy  seemed  that  Fred  had  a  marvellous  faculty 
for  going  wrong.  Kathie  felt  veiy  much  as  if  she 
did  not  care  to  be  bothered.  She  was  restless  and 
nervous,  and  wanted  to  curl  herself  up  on  Aunt 
Ptuth's  lounge  and  think  a  little. 

"Greater  love  hath  no  man  — "  the  words  kept 
running  throu.Ejh  her  mind.  But  the  love  beo-an  in 
little  things,  even  the  love  which  suffered   at   last 


m  ANOTHER'S   STEAD.  197 

upon  tlie  cross.  So  she  roused  herself  to  patience 
and  interest. 

Uncle  Robert  looked  quite  grave*  when  he  returned. 
The  Morrisons  had  heard  the  tidings,  and  were  very- 
anxious. 

"  I  must  wTite  to  Mr.  Morrison's  captain  to-mor- 
row," he  said.  "  We  must  make  every  effort  to  find 
him.  He  may  have  been  wounded  and  carried  off  of 
the  field  unnoticed." 

Kathie  prayed  fervently  for  Mr.  Morrison's  safety. 
Uncle  Eobert  made  immediate  inquiries,  and  they 
waited  in  half  fear,  half  hope.  In  the  mean  while 
events  in  Virginia  had  the  stirring  ring  of  near 
victories.  All  was  breathless  excitement  through- 
out the  land.  Sorties,  sui-prises,  battles,  Sherman 
coming  up  from  his  march  to  the  sea,  Sheridan  brave 
and  dashing  as  ever,  and  Grant  going  slowly  w^ith  his 
men,  like  some  ponderous  machine  that  was  to  crush 
at  last. 

And  then  the  telegraph  flashed  the  news  far  and 
wide  :  "  Lee  has  surrendered ! "  "Pdchmond  has  been 
taken!" 

It  seemed  so  odd  to  Kathie  to  be  going  on  in  her 
quiet,  uneventful  fashion.      School    lessons,   music 


198  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

practices,  home  duties,  —  nothing  grand  or  heroic. 
Mrs.  Wilder's  lecture  to  the  girls  had  been  produc- 
tive of  a  little  good,  beside  breaking  the  foolish  cabal ; 
for  in  it  she  had  touched  upon  dress  and  parties,  and 
tried  to  set  before  them  the  urgency  of  paying  some 
attention  to  their  studies.  So  there  were  fewer  bows, 
a  plainer  arrangement  of  hair,  and  less  talk  of 
fashion. 

"  I  think  it  was  mean  to  crowd  Kathie  Alston 
out,"  declared  Sue  Coleman.  "  ]\Iamma  says  the  Al- 
stons are  people  one  might  be  proud  of  anywhere; 
and  they  are  extremely  well  connected.  She  met 
them  one  evening  at  Mrs.  Adams's,  and  that  elegant 
IVIr.  Langdon  thinks  Mr.  Conover  about  perfect. 
Mamma  is  so  sorry  that  we  did  not  have  her  in 
the  tableaux.  Every  one  noticed  it.  That  was  your 
fault,  BeUe  ! '' 

"  Of  course  you  are  all  quite  at  liberty  to  choose 
your  own  friends,"  Belle  answered,  loftily ;  "  I  'm  sure 
you  agreed  to  it.  You  did  not  want  Mary  Carson 
and  all  that  rabble." 

"  Mary  and  Kathie  are  not  friends  in  our  accepta- 
tion of  the  term.  She  is  polite  to  ]\Iary,  and  I  am 
not  sure  but  that  a  ladylike  courtesy  is  more  efifec- 


IN   AKOTHER'S   STEAD.  199 

tiial  in  keeping  people  at  a  distance  than  absolute 
rudeness.  I  believe  Kathie  and  Emma  Lauriston  are 
the  only  two  girls  in  the  school  who  have  not  in- 
dulged in  rudeness  in  some  form  or  other." 

"  If  she  is  not  hand  and  glove  with  Mary  Carson, 
she  has  another  friend  who  is  no  better,  whom  she 
visits  and  sends  pictures  to,  and  I  don't  know  what 
all.  It 's  a  second  or  third  cousin  of  our  cook.  Of 
course  these  Strongs  are  rich ;  so  it  is  not  the  breed- 
ing as  much  as  the  money.  But,  as  I  said,  you  can 
all  do  as  you  like.  It  seems  to  me  that  half  of  the 
town  has  gone  crazy  on  the  subject  of  Kathie  Alston." 

Emma  was  a  little  troubled  with  these  talks 
about  Sarah  Strong.  She  had  a  certain  delicacy 
w^hich  held  her  aloof  from  any  such  associations. 
"  Kathie,"  she  said  at  length,  "  I  wish  you  would  tell 
me  how  you  came  to  take  a  fancy  to  those  people 
who  were  at  —  the  Fair,  I  believe." 

Kathie  colored  a  little.  "I  don't  know  as  you 
would  understand  it,"  she  answered,  slowly. 

"  I  am  beginning  to  comprehend  some  things,"  her 
eyes  drooping  a  little,  and  glancing  past  Kathie. 

"  I  noticed  them  at  the  Fair  —  because  —  some- 
thing was  said  to  hurt  their  feelings  — " 


200  KATIIIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  0, 1  know !  Lottie  Thome  came  o\'er  to  our  table 
and  made  fun  of  the  woman.  But  —  do  you  not 
think  —  such  people  always  take  advantage  of  a 
little  notice  ?  —  and  then  it  leads  to  mortifying 
embarrassments." 

"  Maybe  that  is  just  one  of  the  things  God  puts  in 
the  daily  warfare  to  make  us  good  soldiers.  It  is 
like  being  a  private  in  the  army.  Sometimes  people 
sneer  at  the  hard,  rough  work  the  soldiers  have  to  do, 
and  yet  it  often  helps  the  officers  to  gain  the  vic- 
tory." 

"And  the  officers  have  the  credit.  That  looks 
rather  unjust,  does  n't  it  ? " 

"It  would  seem  hard  if  God  did  not  remember 
it  aU." 

"  But  how  did  you  come  to  \dsit  the  Strongs  ? " 

Kathie  told  the  whole  story.  "  I  cannot  explain 
these  things  to  you  just  as  Uncle  Piobert  does,"  she 
went  on,  with  a  rather  perplexed  smile.  "Always 
when  I  am  in  any  doubt  or  trouble  I  go  to  him. 
He  thinks  when  people  are  anxious  for  mental  or 
social  improvement  a  helping  hand  does  them  so 
much  good.  Persons  in  their  own  station  cannot 
give  it,  as  a  general  thing.     And  the  Saviour  said. 


The  Comforter.  —  Page  203. 


IN   ANOTHER'S   STEAD.  201 

'Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of 
these  —  '" 

"  Yes,  I  see.  But  it  is  harder  to  do  your  good  in 
that  way,  Kathie." 

"  DiL'sins  in  the  trenches  "  :  and  Kathie  smiled. 

"  Ah,  you  have  gone  out  as  a  private  in  the  ranks  ; 
and  I  am  afraid,  after  all,  that  very  few  of  us  like  to 
be  privates,"  Emma  returned.  "  But  it  certainly  did 
show  a  good  deal  of  delicate  feeling  and  remembrance 
when  Sarah  Strong  sent  you  the  lichen." 

"  I  thought  so.      And  our  visit  was  very  pleasant." 

"  Only,  if  she  had  not  spoken  to  you  that  day  in 
the  street,  it  would  have  saved  you  a  good  deal  of 
pain  and  trouble,"  returned  Emma. 

"  Maybe  it  was  just  what  I  needed.  Life  is  so 
pleasant  and  lovely  to  me  that  I  might  forget  who 
gives  it  all  if  every  once  in  a  while  something  did 
Qot  bring  me  back  to  Him.  And  it  is  so  good,  when 
others  misunderstand  and  blame,  to  know  that  God 
sees  all,  and  never  makes  a  mistake  in  his  judg- 
ment." 

Emma  was  silent.  It  was  the  keeping  near  to  Him 
that  rendered  Kathie  meek,  patient,  and  full  of  love. 
And  it  seemed  to  Emma  as  if  she  strayed  continually. 


202  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

Was  it  because  Kathie  always  had  some  good  work 
in  hand  ? 

But  aniid  all  the  rejoicing,  and  the  certainty  that 
Mr.  Meredith  would  recover,  the  other  shadow  seemed 
to  be  growing  deeper.  Three  weeks,  and  not  a  word 
of  Mr.  Morrison  yet.  His  captaiu  remembered  the 
man,  and  could  only  account  for  the  disappearance 
by  supposing  that  he  had  been  buried  among  the 
rebel  dead.  Twice  since  the  battle  they  had  ex- 
changed prisoners,  and  he  had  not  been  returned 
among  the  well  or  wounded ;  and  now  every  one 
was  flocking  to  the  Union  lines. 

"  Mr.  Darrell  went  to  Washington  to-day,"  Uncle 
Eobert  announced  to  Kathie.  "  He  is  to  bring  Jessie 
and  ]\Ir.  Meredith  home." 

"  Here,  —  to  Brookside  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  with  a  smile.  "  He  needs  the  quiet  and 
the  country  air,  and  I  fancy  there  are  two  or  thre« 
people  here  whom  he  is  longing  to  see." 

Kathie's  heart  beat  with  a  great  bound. 

By  and  by  she  found  herself  rambling  slowly 
toward  the  cottage.  Hugh  was  busy  with  some 
spring  preparations,  pruning  trees  and  vines.  He 
nodded  to  her,  but  did  not  seem  inclined  to  stop  and 


IN  ANOTHER'S   STEAD.  203 

talk,  and  Jamie  caught  hold  of  her  dress,  begging  her 
to  come  in. 

Grandmother  took  off  her  spectacles  and  wiped 
them  ;  she  often  did  this  now,  for  her  eyes  grew  dim 
many  times  a  day. 

"  So  you  have  had  good  news,"  she  said,  after  the 
first  greeting.  "  I  am  glad  there  is  a  little  joy  saved 
out  of  the  great  wreck.  Such  a  handsome  young 
man  as  Mr.  Meredith  was  too ;  but  there  's  many 
a  bonny  lad  sleeping  under  the  sod,  who  was  fair 
enough  to  his  mother." 

Kathie  slipped  her  hand  within  the  one  so  wrin- 
kled and   trembling. 

"  It  is  such  a  sorrow  to  us  all,"  she  said,  in  her 
soft,  comforting  tone.  "  I  keep  thinking  of  it  day  and 
night.     It  was  so  noble  in  him  to  go  —  to  suffer  —  " 

"  It  is  the  one  thing.  Miss  Kathie,  that  gives  me  a 
little  resignation.  I  shall  always  feel  thankful  that 
he  went  in  your  dear  uncle's  stead,  not  for  the  money 
merely.  And  if  it  has  saved  him  —  if  it  has  kept 
you  aU  together ;  but  this  is  too  sad  a  talk  for  you, 
dear  child." 

The  tears  were  dropping  from  Kathie's  long  bronze 
lashes. 


204  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  Dear  grandmother,  there  has  not  been  a  morning 
nor  night  but  that  I  have  remembered  him  and  his 
generous  deed.  I  know  his  life  was  as  precious  to 
you  as  Uncle  Eobert's  was  to  us,  and  now  poor  little 
Ethel  is  an  orphan  —  for  my  sake.  How  strange 
that  the  whole  world  keeps  doing  for  one  another,  and 
that,  after  all,  no  one  really  stands  alone  in  it ! " 

"  We  are  nearer  than  we  think  for  —  rich  and  poor, 
when  one  takes  God's  word  aright.  We  can't  any  of 
us  do  without  the  other  unless  there  comes  a  sense 
of  loss  and  something  that  is  not  quite  right.  You 
and  yours  see  further  into  it  than  most  folk.  I  'm 
glad  to  have  the  precious  comfort  of  knowing  that 
William  went  safely,  and  that  in  the  other  country 
he  has  met  his  dear  wife.  I  shaU.  soon  go  to  them, 
and  I  know  well  that  little  Ethel  will  never  lack  for 
friends.     William  felt  it  with  great  certainty." 

Another  duty  was  laid  upon  Kathie.  This  orphan 
was  to  be  more  to  her  than  any  chance  friend.  WTiat 
could  she  do  of  her  own  self?  Only  to  show  her 
now  how  truly  she  appreciated  the  sacrifice  and  loss, 
and  to  put  a  few  simple  pleasures  in  her  life,  to  give 
her  tenderness  and  affection  that  might  make  some 
slight  amends. 


IN  ANOTHER'S   STEAD.  205 

She  thought  of  something  else  that  evening. 

"  Uncle  liobert,"  she  said,  "  do  you  believe  there  is 
any  hope  that  ]\Ir.  Morrison  may  still  be  alive  ? " 

"  It  is  very  slight  now,"  he  answered.  "  And  yet 
I  can  hardly  be  reconciled  to  the  loss  amid  this  gen- 
eral rejoicing.  It  seems  so  much  harder  to  have  him 
dead  now  that  the  war  is  over  and  many  of  the  sol- 
diers will  soon  return  home." 

"I  feel  so  sorry  that  he  had  to  die  out  there 
alone.  If  some  one  could  have  given  him  only  a 
cup  of  cold  water  —  " 

"  Perhaps  they  did." 

"  But  if  it  had  been  you  ! "  Kathie  clung  closely 
to  him  as  if  there  might  be  danger  yet. 

"  It  was  not,  my  darling.  God  seems  to  hold  me 
in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  while  he  takes  such 
care  of  me  I  feel  more  than  ever  the  need  of  doin^r 

o 

his  work.  And  now  little  Ethel*  has  been  added 
to  us." 

"  Uncle  Eobert,  I  think  I  ought  to  take  a  special 
share  in  it,  since  God  has  left  me  the  delight  of  your 
love." 

"  As  Ethel  grows  ohlor,  there  will  be  many  things 
that  vou  can  do." 


206  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"  But  I  have  thought  of  tliis  one  now.  The 
interest  on  Ethel's  little  fortune  amounts  to  almost 
one  hundred  dollars." 

"  A  little  more  than  that.     I  put  it  in  bonds." 

"  And  if  it  could  be  saved  for  her,  —  since  she  will 
want  but  very  little.  She  will  have  her  home  with 
her  aunt,  and  need  only  her  clothes.  I  'd  like  to  buy 
those  for  her  as  a  kind  of  thank-offering." 

"  But,  my  darling,  in  a  few  years  more  you  will  be 
a  young  lady,  and  there  will  come  parties,  journeys, 
and  pleasures  of  different  kinds,  where  it  may  be  ne- 
cessary for  you  to  be  dressed  in  something  besides 
the  simple  garments  of  childhood.  Perhaps  you  will 
want  more  money  yourself ! " 

"  I  never  have  to  give  up  anything  needful,  but  I 
was  tlunking  that  I  should  like  now  and  then  to 
make  a  real  sacrifice,  relinquish  some  article  that  I 
wanted  very  miich,  and  use  it  for  her  instead.  It 
would  help*me  to  remember  what  her  father  had  done 
for  me." 

Uncle  Robert  stooped  and  kissed  her,  touched  to 
the  heart  by  her  simple  act  of  self-denial. 

"It  shall  be  as  you  wish,"  he  replied,  tenderly. 
"  And,  my  dear  cliikl,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  willing  to 


IN  ANOTHER'S  STEAD.  207 

take  your  share  in  the  great  work  there  is  to  be  done 
in  the  world." 

"  It  is  so  little,  after  all,  and  so  many  blessings  come 
to  me." 

Ah,  was  it  not  true  that  God  restored  fourfold  ? 
After  many  days  the  bread  we  have  cast  upon  the 
waters  comes  floating  back  to  us.  Well  for  us  then 
if  we  are  not  shamed  by  niggardly  crumbs  and  crusts 
flung  out  impatiently  to  some  wayside  beggar  while 
we  ourselves  feasted.  For  God's  work  and  love  go 
together,  and  there  is  always  something  for  the  will- 
ing hand. 


208  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 


CHAPTEE    XII. 

HOME  AGAIN. 

The  pony  phaeton  stood  before  the  school-house^ 
Jasper  and  Hero  nodding  their  heads  impatiently  in 
the  April  sunshine.  The  prettiest  striped  lap-robe 
imaginable  was  thrown  over  the  empty  seat,  the  plat- 
ing of  the  harness  made  a  silvery  glitter,  and  alto- 
gether it  was  a  turnout  that  one  might  be  rather 
proud  of,  if  one's  self-complacency  was  nurtured  upon 
such  things. 

And  the  driver  thereof  was  not  to  be  despised. 
The  girls,  as  they  trooped  down  stairs,  thought  Ka- 
thie  Alston  "  so  lucky  !  "  No  one  in  Brookside  had  a 
father  or  uncle  or  brother  so  devoted,  —  not  old,  by 
any  means,  and  certainly  good-looking,  but,  best  of 
all,  showing  his  affection  in  a  manner  that  made  her 
envied  of  others. 

Sue  Coleman  had  met  him  several  times  through 
the  course  of  the  winter,  and  pronounced  him  "  mag- 
nificent," in  hrr  enthusiastic  fashion.    Indeed,  he  was 


i 


HOJfE  AGAIN.  209 

the  kind  of  man  to  be  very  attractive  to  young  girls. 
She  bowed  now  in  her  most  gracious  manner.  Belle 
bit  her  lip  angrily.  If  she  had  taken  up  Kathie 
instead  of  that  insignificant  little  gossiping  Lottie 
Thorne!  Her  mother  had  been  to  call  at  Cedar- 
wood,  but  it  was  n't  at  all  likely  that  she  would  be 
invited  within  its  charmed  precincts.  Of  course  she 
said  she  did  not  care ;  but  there  was  a  gnawing  jeal- 
ousy at  her  heart. 

Uncle  Eobert  was  so  in  the  habit  of  coming  for 
Kathie  that  she  sprang  in,  nodded  a  gay  farewell 
to  the  group,  and  went  on  for  some  distance  before 
she  thought  it  anything  more  than  a  pleasure  drive. 

Suddenly  her  heart  gave  a  quick  bound.  "You 
are  going  to  the  Darrells'  ? "  she  said. 

"  Yes."  Disguise  it  as  he  might,  there  was  a  glow 
in  the  half-averted  eyes. 

"  0,  Mr.  Meredith  has  n't  —  come  home  ! " 

"  Has  n't  he  ?  Are  you  quite  sure  ?  "  —  with  a 
little  smile. 

"0  Uncle  Robert!" 

"They  came  at  twelve.  I  was  in  there  half  an 
hour,  when  he  insisted  that  I  should  drive  over  for 
you." 

14 


210  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

It  was  very  flattering  to  be  remembered  first  of 
all ;  and  yet  there  was  something  connected  ^vith  it 
which  made  Kathie's  heart  beat  in  an  unwonted 
manner,  and  a  quiver  came  into  her  throat  almost 
as  if  she  wanted  to  cry.  Six  months  ago  !  —  how 
much  had  happened  since  then  ! 

He  fastened  the  horses,  and  entered  tlie  hall  with 
Katbie,  who  seemed  strangely  shy. 

"  They  took  him  riglit  up  to  Miss  Jessie's  room," 
said  her  uncle. 

Thither  they  went,  tbougb  there  was  a  sound  of 
joyous  voices  in  grandmother's  room,  just  across  the 
ball.  The  two  halted  a  moment,  then  Uncle  Robert 
pushed  the  door  a  little  wider  open. 

"  Have  you  brougbt  her  ? " 

The  dear,  well-known  voice,  sounding  a  bit  busky 
and  tremulous,  and  witb  something  in  it  whicb  brought 
tbe  tears  to  Kathie's  eyes.  TVHiat  with  the  flood  of 
sunshine,  the  white  bed  and  pillows  a  little  tumbled, 
and  a  gray  travelling-wrap  thrown  partly  o^er  some- 
body, she  seemed  to  see  nothing  but  confusion  at 
first;  then  a  thin  white  hand  was  stretched  out. 

"  I  am  so  tired  that  I  cannot  rise.  Dear  Katliie ! 
Dear  child ! " 


HOME   AGAIN.  211 

They  were  both  crying  then,  and  neither  felt 
ashamed.  Just  a  miracle  that  he  was  here  at  all; 
and  if  he  had  gone  to  the  other  country,  the  golden 
key  opening  the  gates  set  with  jasper  and  pearl  must 
have  been  Kathie's  precious  words. 

"  ;My  dear  Kathie,  I  've  lost  all  the  little  sense  I 
ever  did  have.  I  sent  Jessie  away  for  fear  she  might 
indulge  in  a  scene,  and  here  I  am  crying  like  a  baby ! 
But  there  are  so  many  things  to  think  of,  and  it  is  so 
delightful  to  see  familiar  faces  once  more  ! " 

Then  Kathie  took  a  look  at  him.  He  was  very 
thin  and  pale,  the  hair  and  beard  cropped  quite  close, 
the  eyes  sunken,  yet  with  the  old  bright  glow  she  had 
watched  so  many  times  ;  and,  oddest  of  all,  the  once 
plump  hands  looking,  as  Hannah  would  have  said, 
like  "chickens'  claws." 

"  Well,  should  you  know  me  ? " 

"Yes,  but  you  are  changed." 

"  And  if  you  had  seen  me  a  month  ago  !  The  doc- 
tors have  cut  me  open,  turned  me  inside  out,  and  run 
up  and  down  my  body  with  lodestone  in  search  of  a 
stray  rebel  ball.  When  they  had  me  nearly  killed, 
they  would  leave  off  a  little  while  ;  but  as  soon  as 
they  saw   signs  of  coming  to  life  they  went  at  it 


212  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

again.  It 's  a  kind  of  gymnastics  that  a  man  can't 
get  fat  on,  try  his  best." 

"  I  should  think  not "  ;  and  Kathie  could  n't  help 
laugliing. 

"  But  it 's  through  now.  I  feel  like  saying,  with 
Joe  Gargery,  '  And  now,  Pip,  old  chap,'  (Pip,  in  this 
instance,  standing  for  country^)  '  we  've  done  our  duty 
by  one  another.'  School  is  out,  and  Uncle  Sam  is 
sending  us  home  as  fast  as  possible.  I  've  nothing  to 
do  now  but  to  be  gloriously  lazy,  and  have  every  one 
wait  upon  me." 

"  0, 1  am  so  glad,  so  thankful,"  and  Kathie  pressed 
the  thin  hands  in  her  own,  so  soft  and  warm,  "to 
have  you  back  here,  when  we  were  afraid  —  " 

"It  has  been  a  hard  struggle.  Little  Kathie.  I 
shall  never  see  a  blue  coat  again  without  thinking 
of  what  many  a  brave  feUow  has  had  to  suffer.  I 
seem  to  have  been  feasted  upon  roses ;  but  hundreds 
of  them  had  no  such  luck." 

"  And  to  come  to  peace  at  last,  —  to  know  there 
will  be  no  more  calls!" 

"  It  certainly  is  good  tidings  of  great  joy.  And 
though  I  could  n't  be  in  at  the  last,  losing  all  the 
triumph  and  glory,  I  feel  that  I  did  a  little  good 
work,  and  shall  never  regret  the  rest." 


HOME  AGAIN.  213 

Her  soft  eyes  answered  him. 

"  And  there  is  something  else.  I  want  to  tell  you 
that  your  precious  words  bore  good  fruit  after  many 
days.  My  dear  child,"  drawing  her  closer  to  him 
until  the  silken  curls  swept  his  cheek,  "  I  owe  you 
more  than  I  can  ever  express,  ever  pay.  It  was  your 
sweet,  simple  daily  life,  and  your  unconscious  hero- 
ism that  first  led  me  to  think.  I  have  heard  hun- 
dreds of  sermons,  and  had  hosts  of  religious  friends, 
but  nothing  ever  touched  me  like  your  gentle  firm- 
ness that  night  so  long  ago  at  my  brother's,  and  your 
rare  modesty  afterward,  and  all  your  straightforward 
course,  even  when  it  involved  pain  and  sacrifice.  I 
can't  exactly  tell  you  how  the  truth  and  the  peace 
came  to  me,  enabling  me  to  do  my  duty  to  God  and 
man ;  but  when  I  was  ill  and  helpless,  and  hovering 
on  the  verge  of  death,  I  want  you  to  know  that  His 
love  was  infinitely  precious  to  me.  It  took  away  all 
perplexity,  all  care  and  trouble,  and  gave  me  rest  in 
the  dreariest  of  nights.  And  as  He  suffered  for  us,  so 
ought  we  to  be  willing  to  suffer  for  one  another.  I 
never  realized  before  what  a  great  and  grand  thing 
life  was  when  obedience  to  God  crowns  it  first  of  alL 
And  even  out  there  it  seemed  as  if  I  was  always  tak- 


214  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

ing  lessons  of  you,  remembering  what  you  had  said 
and  done." 

"  0  no,  no ! "  she  cried,  with  her  utmost  sweet 
humility.     "  I  am  not  worthy  of  so  much." 

"  My  darling  friend,  I  think  you  are  one  of  God's 
own  messengers.  Through  you  I  have  found  him, 
come  to  see  him  as  he  is,  a  tender,  loving  Father." 

She  hardly  dared  to  taste  the  rich  ripe  fruit  gath- 
ered here  to  her  hand.  It  was  such  a  sacred  work 
to  have  guided  another  soul  ever  so  little,  and  she 
could  scarcely  believe  that  it  had  come  through  her. 

"  Are  you  going  to  keep  Kathie  all  the  afternoon  ? " 
asked  a  soft,  pleading  voice. 

Both  started.  For  many  minutes  they  had  been 
silently  thinking  of  the  little  steps  that  reached  to 
God,  made  so  much  more  simple  and  easy  by  the 
tender  spirit-leading  than  all  the  learned  philosophy 
of  the  world. 

"0  Miss  Jessie!" 

"  Mrs.  Meredith,  if  you  j)lease,"  he  exclaimed  T\dth 
a  little  laugh  in  his  tone.  "  There,  you  have  kissed 
enough.  Come,  sit  down  and  look  at  me.  I  am 
afraid  you  will  forget  about  my  being  one  of  oui 
country's  noble  sons." 


HOME   AGAIN.  215 

Jessie  might  have  been  a  little  thinner  with  all 
her  anxiety  and  watching,  but  she  was  the  same 
dear,  sweet  friend,  and  Kathie  thought  prettier  than 
ever,  with  her  half  shy,  tender  grace. 

"  He  has  grown  very  exacting,"  the  young  wife 
said,  with  a  smile. 

Kathie  blushed.  "  It  seems  so  odd  for  you  to  — 
be—" 

"  Married,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Meredith.  "  Why,  what 
else  could  I  do  ?  AVhen  I  was  a  poor,  helpless  log, 
unable  to  stir  hand  or  foot,  some  one  had  to  take 
pity  upon  me.     She  was  very  good,  I  assure  you." 

"  As  if  I  had  not  knowTi  it  long  before  ! "  and  a 
host  of  old  memories  rushed  over  Kathie. 

"  Is  n't  it  odd,"  Mr.  Meredith  said,  in  a  lower  tone, 
taking  liis  wife's  hand,  "  that  it  was  through  Kathie 
we  came  to  know  each  other  ?  I  can  just  see  the 
picture  she  made  in  the  great  haU  of  the  hotel,  like 
a  little  wild-flower  blown  astray  by  a  gust  of  wind.'* 

Jessie  thought  of  something  else,  —  how  she  and 
Charlie  were  sitting  by  the  cheerful  fire  one  winter 
night,  when  he  had  expressed*  a  desire  to  make  her 
happy  in  some  way,  because  she  was  always  studying 
the  pleasure  of  others.     But  fur  that  she  might  never 


216  .  KATHIFS   SOLDIERS. 

have  known  the  Alstons  so  intimately,  and  of 
course  — 

There  she  had  to  stop  with  a  dainty  blush. 

It  was  very  odd,  Kathie  decided,  in  her  simple 
child's  way. 

"  And  we  have  to  thank  Kathie  for  a  good  deal  of 
delicacy  in  keeping  our  secret,"  ^Mr.  Meredith  said. 
"  Circumstances  gave  it  into  her  hands  long  ago." 

She  smiled  a  little.  "What  did  Ada  say?"  she 
asked,  rather  shyly. 

"  I  have  not  been  favored  with  Ada's  opinion,  but 
she  and  her  mother  are  to  pay  me  a  short  visit  pres- 
ently. George  wanted  me  to  come  immediately  to 
New  York,  but  I  fancied  Jessie  must  be  a  trifle 
homesick;  and,  to  confess  the  truth,  I  was  longing 
for  a  glimpse  of  Brookside.  Have  you  begun  garden- 
ing yet,  Kathie  ?  And  tell  me  the  story  of  the  whole 
winter.     I  'm  just  famishing  for  gossip." 

Uncle  Eobert  proposed  returning  presently,  but 
they  would  not  listen  to  his  taking  Kathie.  JMr. 
Meredith  begged  her  and  Jessie  to  have  tea  up  in 
the  room,  where  he  could  look  at  them.  His  side  was 
still  very  weak,  and  his  journey  had  fatigued  him  too 
much  to  admit  of  his  sitting  up.  "  But  I  shall  soon 
be  about  with  a  crutch,"  he  announced,  gayly. 


HOME  AGAIN.  217 

Passing  the  lodge  cottage  again  that  evening,  Ka- 
thie  gave  a  tender  thought  to  its  inmates,  and  the 
childish  longing  for  fairy  power  came  back  to  her. 
Xo  wand,  nothing  but  a  Fortunatus's  purse  with  one 
piece  of  gold  in  it,  and  that  could  not  do  everytliing. 

Kathie  was  up  betimes  the  next  morning.  There 
were  lessons  to  study,  an  exercise  to  write,  and  a 
music  practice  to  be  sandwiched  in  somewhere,  for 
Mr.  Lawrence  was  to  come  that  afternoon.  And  her 
head  was  still  so  full  of  Mr.  Meredith  and  dear 
Jessie. 

"It  will  not  do,"  she  said,  presently,  to  herself, 
when  she  found  that  she  was  listening  to  iBvery  bird, 
and  watching  the  cloud  of  motes  in  the  sunshine ;  so 
with  that  she  set  to  work  in  good  earnest. 

Belle  Hadden  was  loftier  than  ever  on  this  day,  and 
seemed  to  hold  herseK  quite  apart.  "  A  new  kink  of 
grandeur,"  Emma  Lauriston  said. 

Lottie  Thome  always  had  the  earliest  news.  Now 
she  made  sundry  mysterious  confidences,  prefaced 
with,  "  Would  you  have  believed  it  ? " 

"  AATiat  is  that,  Lottie  ? "  asked  one  of  the  girls. 

"  0,  have  n't  you  heard  ? "  the  face  aglow  with 
a  sense  of  importance.     "Papa  told  us  last  night. 


218  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

though  I  suppose  it  is  all  over.     Poor  Belle  !    Why, 
it  would  kill  me  I " 

"  But  what  is  it  V 

"  About  ;Mr.  Hadden.  He  has  been  embezzling,  or 
making  false  returns,  or  something,  and  charged  the 
government  with,  a  great  deal  more  than  he  supplied. 
Why,  I  believe  it  is  almost  a  million  !  And  he  is  in 
prison ! " 

"Not  so  bad  as  that,"  subjoined  Sue  Coleman, 
quietly. 

"  But  he  is  in  prison." 

•  "Yes,  there  is   some   trouble,  but  maybe  it  will 
not  amount  to  much." 

"  I  should  think  she  would  be  ashamed  to  show 
her  face  ! " 

"  How  can  she  help  it  ? "  said  the  softest  and  sweet- 
est of  voices.  "  It  is  very  hard  to  punish  her  or 
make  her  answerable  for  her  father's  faults." 

"  Wliat  should  you  do,  Kathie  Alston,  if  you  had 
been  intimate  with  her  ? "  It  was  Sue  Coleman  who 
spoke,  and  there  was  a  husky  strand  in  her  voice. 

"  I  should  keep  on  just  the  same.  It  will  be  very 
painful  for  her  to  bear  anyhow.  Suppose  it  was  one' 
of  us!" 


HOME   AGAIN.  219 

"You  don't  know  what  hateful  things  she  said 
about  your  uncle  ever  so  long  ago,"  pursued  Lottie. 

"  But  if  they  were  false,  her  merely  saying  them 
could  not  make  them  true,  you  know." 

It  was  a  bit  of  philosophy  quite  new  to  the  girls, 
though  each  one  might  have  thought  of  it  long  be- 
fore, and  was  one  of  the  things  that  had  been  a 
great  comfort  to  Kathie  many  a  time. 

"  But  this  is  true." 

"  It  will  be  bitter  enough  to  bear,  then,  without  our 
adding  to  the  burden  "  ;  and  a  tremulous  color  flitted 
over  Kathie's  fair  face,  not  so  much  at  what  she  had 
been  saying  as  the  fact  that  these  girls  were  grouped 
around  listening  for  her  verdict. 

"I  don't  believe  she  will  come  to-morrow,"  two 
or  three  voices  decided. 

They  never  knew  how  hard  her  coming  was,  how 
she  had  begged  and  entreated  her  mother  to  let  her 
stay  at  home,  and  finally  threatened  not  to  go,  when 
Mrs.  Hadden  had  taken  her  in  the  carriage.  There 
was  no  pride  in  her  soul  as  she  stepped  out  of  it, 
only  a  bitter,  haughty  hatred. 

"  Don't  act  like  a  fool !  "  was  her  mother's  parting 
advice.     "  The  matter  will  soon  blow  over." 


220  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

For  Mrs.  Hadden  felt  that  she  should  not  be  ut- 
terly crushed.  The  deed  of  the  house  was  in  her 
name,  and  the  furniture  bills  had  been  made  out  in 
the  same  manner,  consequently  that  much  was  se- 
cure. Mr.  Hadden  had  probably  not  done  more  than 
hundreds  of  others,  and  she  felt  confident  that  he 
would  get  out  of  it  somehow.  They  had  plenty  of 
money,  and  could  start  afresh  in  a  new  place,  but  the 
people  here  should  see  that  she  was  able  to  hold  her 
head  as  high  as  the  best  of  themu 

There  was  a  little  bouquet  on  Belle's  desk.  No  one 
knew  who  put  it  there.  They  would  have  suspected 
Kathie  Alston,  of  course,  if  they  had  not  seen  her 
come  in  empty-handed,  but  no  one  guessed  it  was 
her  second  coming  that  morning. 

The  Brookside  Standard  copied  the  report,  stating 
also  that  Mr.  Hadden  had  asked  a  suspension  of  pub- 
lic opinion  for  the  present. 

"  Do  you  suppose  it  is  really  true  ?  "  inquired  Ka- 
thie of  Uncle  Eobert. 

"  I  believe  Mr.  Hadden's  reputation  does  not  stand 
very  high,  at  the  best.  I  can  forgive  a  man  who  is 
tempted  to  retrieve  himself  by  some  desperate  step, 
when   on   the   brink    of    ruin;    but   the   men   who 


HOME   AGAIN.  221 

wron<^ed  our  poor  brave  boys  with  clothing  that  was 
but  half  made,  and  food  of  the  poorest  kind,  enriching 
themselves  while  the  country  was  at  her  sorest  need, 
do  deserve  punishment.  Still,  it  would  be  hardly 
land  to  begin  by  meting  it  out  to  his  cliildren." 

"  How  terrible  it  must  be.  Uncle  Eobert,  to  know 
that  some  one  you  held  dear  was  guilty  of  such  a 
crime ! " 

"  Yes,  I  think  it  would  be  worse  than  taking  up 
poor  and  uncultivated  people  "  ;  and  a  peculiar  smile 
crossed  his  face.  "  You  will  have  an  opportunity  to 
show  your  blue  blood,  Kathie.  I  believe  I  never 
knew  a  Conover  who  struck  a  fallen  foe." 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  wondering  if  it  would  be 
foolish  to  tell  him  about  the  flowers ;  but  just  then 
Freddy  ran  in,  full  of  tribulation  as  usual 

Mr.  Meredith  improved  rapidly.  Kathie  had  to 
take  liim  in  her  way  some  time  during  the  day,  or 
there  was  a  most  heart-rending  complaint. 

"  It  is  so  delightful  to  have  them  all  love  him  so 
well ! "  she  said  to  Aunt  Kuth.  "  Charlie  has  a  hero 
of  his  o%vn  now." 

They  received  a  long  and  characteristic  letter  from 
Eob.  who  wished  he  was  a  bombshell  and  could  be 


222  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

dropped  down  into  Brookside.  The  war  was  actually 
ended,  and  "  Johnny  was  marching  home/'  and  every- 
thing had  happened  about  right.  "  Only  I  am  awful 
sorry  about  Mr.  Morrison.  I  can't  seem  to  believe 
but  that  he  will  come  to  light  somewhere  yet.  It 
gave  me  such  a  strange  feeling,  —  thinking,  for  a  mo- 
ment, if  it  had  been  Uncle  Eobert.  We  will  tiy  all 
our  lives  to  make  it  up  to  Ethel.  I  will  never  tease 
her  again,  at  any  rate."  AMiich  was  all  the  resolve 
in  Eob's  power  at  present. 


GOOD  NEWS.  223 

CHAPTEE   XIII. 

GOOD   NEWS. 

It  seemed  to  Kathie  in  these  days  as  if  she  had 
her  hands  very  full.  The  w^eeks  were  hardly  lohg 
enough.  Yet  what  could  be  left  out  ?  The  daily 
call  at  the  Darrells',  or  the  Morrisons',  for  now  Ethel 
looked  to  see  her  every  day,  and  used  to  confide  to 
her  the  sums  that  bothered,  the  thoughts  that  puz- 
zled, and  the  many  things  which  come  to  trouble 
little  girls  ;  and  if  sometimes  Kathie  considered  them 
tiresome  or  foolish,  she  remembered  how  patient  dear 
Aunt  Euth  used  to  be  with  her  in  the  old  times,  — 
and  now  she  had  Uncle  Eobert  saved  to  her  by 
Ethel's  loss. 

N'o,  neither  of  those  could  be  given  up,  nor  the 
school-lessons,  nor  the  music,  nor  even  Sarah,  who 
vjos  improving. 

The  blue  ribbon  had  delighted  her  exceedingly. 
Kathie  said,  very  gently  indeed,  —  that  is,  prefacing 
and  ending  it  with  something  pleasant,  —  "I  think  it 
will  be  much  prettier  for  your  hair  than  any  other 
color."     That  started  Sarah  upon  a  new  tack. 


224  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"I  wish  you  would  tell  me  something  about  col- 
ors," she  begged  in  her  next  letter.  "  I  always 
remember  how  lovety  you  looked  that  night  at  the 
Fair,  and  some  of  the  ladies  too.  I  can't  be  pretty,  I 
know,  but  I  'd  like  to  look  nice,  so  that  people  would 
n't  laugh  at  me.  Now  that  I  have  beonin,  there  are 
so  many  things  that  I  want  to  know.  Cousin  Ellen 
helps  me  a  good  deal,  and  she  is  such  a  rest  to 
mother.  She  has  the  pleasantest  way  of  managing 
the  children,  and  does  such  a  deal  of  sewing.  Fa- 
ther said  I  might  raise  all  the  chickens  I  wanted 
to  this  summer,  and  I  think  I  '11  buy  a  nice  rocking- 
chair  for  the  parlor.  0,  I  have  crocheted  two  beau- 
tiful tidies,  and  one  of  them  is  about  as  good  as  sold 
for  two  dollars  and  a  half.  If  it  is  n't  too  much 
trouble,  I  would  like  to  send  the  money  to  you,  and 
let  you  buy  me  some  books.  You  know  what  is 
pretty  and  interesting.  And  if  you  would  only  tell 
me  what  would  be  nice  for  summer  dresses  and  a  hat." 

The  ice  being  once  broken,  discussions  upon  dress 
followed  quite  frequently.  When  Kathie  was  in 
any  doubt  she  referred  the  subject  to  Aunt  Euth. 
It  was  plain  that  Sarah  was  emerging  from  her 
crude  and  barbaric  state,  yet  she  showed  no  disposi- 


GOOD  NEWS.  225 

tion  thus  far  to  drift  over  into  the  frothy  waves  of 
vanity.  With  her  other  knowledge  seemed  to  come 
slirewd,  practical  self-knowledge. 

Jim  too  had  been  made  the  happy  recipient  of 
some  useful  books.  He  seemed  to  have  a  great  taste 
for  wood- working, —  "conjuring,"  his  father  said, — 
and  talked  a  little  of  going  to  the  city  to  learn  a 
trade,  but  Mr.  Strong  had  no  fancy  for  giving  him 
up  now,  when  he  was  such  a  help. 

"  The  farm  is  plenty  large,  enough  for  two,"  Mr. 
Strong  said,  "and  there  's  no  life  so  independent." 

But  Mr.  Conover  felt  that  it  ought  to  be  rendered 
interesting  as  well.  So  he  asked  Jim  to  come  down 
to  Cedarwood  and  take  a  look  around,  w^hich  delighted 
the  youth  greatly,  and  gave  him  some  new  ideas. 

The  rumors  concerning  Belle  Hadden's  father  proved 
too  true.  It  w^as  an  aggravated  case,  and  each  day 
brought  new  circumstances  to  light.  It  was  useless 
to  think  of  holding  tEeir  position  in  Brookside.  Ac- 
quaintances began  to  make  ceremonious  calls,  or  bow 
coldly.     A  few  of  the  girls  in  school  openly  rejoiced. 

"Thank  the  Lord  my  father  never  stole  nor 
cheated,"  said  Mary  Carson.  "  I  'd  rather  be  a  ple- 
beian than  a  thief." 

15 


226  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

The  mortificatiou  was  too  much.  Belle  begged  and 
prayed  that  she  might  be  allowed  to  leave  Brookside, 
and  finally  a  visit  to  an  aunt  was  determined  upon. 
She  was  a  queen  to  the  last  moment,  though,  and  said 
her  good-bys  to  the  few  with  a  haughty  grace. 

"  Thus  endeth  the  reign  of  the  patricians,"  com- 
mented Emma  Lauriston. 

There  was  a  grave,  perplexed  light  in  Sue  Cole- 
man's eyes. 

"  Belle  was  real  fascinating,"  she  said  ;  "  but  I  won- 
der that  we  —  that  some  of  us  had  n't  more  sense  last 
winter.  We  all  went  to  persecuting  and  ruling  out 
Kathie  Alston,  who  bore  it  all  like  a  saint.  Belle  had 
courage  and  pride,  but  there  was  something  nobler  in 
Kathie."  Yet  Sue  knit  her  brows  in  silent  per- 
plexity. 

"  But  there  is  another  view  of  it  that  puzzles  me, 
after  all,"  she  said,  breaking  her  long  silence. 
"^Miere  do  people  make  a  distinction  ?  Now  sup- 
pose Kathie  Alston  invited  this  iiroUgh  of  hers  to 
her  house,  and  you  or  I  should  drop  in  —  it  would 
look  ill-bred  to  take  Kathie  away  from  her  guest,  and 
yet  it  is  not  likely  her  talk  would  interest  us  much. 
Then  as  Kathie  otows  larger  —  well,  it  is  all  of  a 


GOOD  NEWS.  227 

muddle  in  my  brain.  I  dare  say  these  Strongs  are 
good,  lionest,  respectable  people,  and — there  is  no  use 
in  smoothing  it  over  —  IVIr.  Hadden  was  dreadfully 
dishonest.  All  their  grandeur  and  fine  clothes  belong 
by  right  to  some  one  else.  And  yet  they  are  allowed 
to  go  into  the  best  society.     Is  it  quite  right  ? " 

"Not  the  very  best,  perhaps,"  returned  Emma, 
slowly.  "  A  good  many  people  do  insist  upon  worth, 
virtue,  honesty,  and  all  that." 

"  And  then,  as  Kathie  said.  Belle  was  not  to  blame 
for  her  father's  sins." 

"  It  seems  to  me  now  that  Belle's  mistake  was  in 
trying  to  decide  who  should  be  greatest,  and  pushing 
down  all  who  did  not  exactly  suit  her.  She  had  no 
right  to  be  the  judge." 

"  Who  of  us  has  ?  And  here  is  another  question. 
You  remember  Mrs.  Duncan  ?  She  went  to  the  city 
about  a  fortnight  ago,  and  had  a  business  offer.  First, 
I  must  teU  you  that  she  was  very  elegantly  brought 
up,  but  her  father  died,  and  somehow  the  fortune 
melted  into  thin  air.  She  went  to  visit  an  aunt,  and 
met  Mr.  Duncan,  who  was  cashier  in  a  bank.  They 
have  always  lived  very  nicely, — stylishly,  Belle  would 
sav,  —  but  now  tliey  liave  nothing,  and  Mrs.  Duncan 


228  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

has  no  friends  who  can  take  care  of  her.  She  has 
forgotten  a  good  deal  of  her  French  and  her  other 
accomplishments,  and  teachers'  situations  are  hard  to 
get.  Well,  a  Mrs.  Marsh  in  the  city  has  offered  IMrs. 
Duncan  eight  hundred  dollars  a  year  to  take  a  posi- 
tion in  her  millinery  establishment.  She  has  a  mar- 
vellous faculty  for  trimming,  —  equal  to  any  French 
woman.  And  why  would  n't  she  be  just  as  good  and 
just  as  much  of  a  lady  if  she  did  take  it  ?  Will  it 
make  her  coarse  and  ^Tilgar  ? " 

"  Xo,"  answered  Emma,  decisively. 

"  Yet  I  dare  say  the  Hadden  children  would  not 
be  allowed  to  associate  with  the  Duncan  girls.  I 
cannot  seem  to  get  at  the  wrong,  nor  where  it 
comes  in." 

"  I  believe,  after  all,  Kathie  Alston  has  the  secret, 
—  the  little  leaven  which  leavens  the  whole  lump." 

"  Only  some  of  us  object  to  being  leavened  "  ;  and 
Sue  finished  with  a  lajigh. 

But  though  Kathie  had  not  heard  the  talk,  there 
was  a  secret  uneasiness  in  her  soul  as  well.  Sarah 
Strong  was  begging  her  to  come  up  to  Middleville 
again,  and  Uncle  Eobert  believed  the  relaxation 
would  do  her  good. 


GOOD  JIEWS.  229 

"  Mamma,"  she  said,  thoughtfully, "  there  are  one 
or  two  puzzles  that  I  cannot  make  quite  clear  to  my 
owTi  mind." 

"  What  is  the  matter  now  ?  Any  new  gift  for 
Sarah?" 

"  Not  a  gift  exactly,  but  —  a  great  pleasure.  When 
I  was  with  them  in  the  wagon  that  day,  and  they 
were  both  so  cordial  and  warm-hearted,  it  appeared 
rude,  or  at  least  impolite,  wt  to  ask  them  to  call 
here.  Mrs.  Strong  said,  '  Sarah  would  n't  look  well 
among  your  grand  people  ' ;  but  there  was  such  a  sad, 
^  wistful  look  in  Sarah's  eyes,  as  if  somehow  she  felt 
that  she  was  shut  out." 

"And  you  would  like  to  have  her  come?"  returned 
r    Mrs.  Alston,  with  a  smile. 

^  "  I  was  thinking  how  happy  it  would  make  her, 
mamma.  I  don't  believe  she  ever  saw  so  many 
pretty  tilings  together  in  her  life,  —  and  she  is  so 
fond  of  them." 

"And  what  puzzles  you?"' 

"  Whether  it  would  be  quite  —  I  don't  mean  that 
F    I   am   too    proud,"    catcliing  herself  with   a   quick 
breath,  while  a  scarlet  flush  quivered  from  brow  to 
chin. 


230  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"  Whether  it  would  be  proper,  —  is  that  what  you 
mean  ? "  asked  her  mother. 

"  Yes  " ;  and  Kathie  began  to  twist  the  fringe  of 
the  nearest  tidy. 

"  Miss  Jessie  asked  you  to  her  house,  you  know. 
We  lived  very  plainly  then,  and  you  had  to  wear 
a  cheap  delaine  for  best  dress  all  winter." 

"  Then  you  think  I  may  ? "  she  exclaimed,  joy- 
ously, while  her  soft  eyes  brightened. 

"  It  all  depends  upon  the  manner  of  the  asking.  I 
think  she  might  come  some  Saturday  when  you  were 
alone  and  have  a  very  pleasant  visit.  It  is  not  likely 
she  would  enjoy  meeting  several  of  the  girls  here." 

"  0  mamma,  I  should  ask  no  one  ! " 

"  Not  because  we  should  be  so  ashamed  of  Sarah, 
but  on  account  of  her  feelings.  It  is  best  for  little 
girls  to  exercise  tact,  as  weU  as  grown-up  people ; 
and  sometimes  it  proves  awkward  work  tiying  to 
make  different  kinds  or  sets  harmonize.  By  observ- 
ing a  few  simple  rules,  and  studying  the  comfort  of 
both  parties,  you  may  be  able  to  give  aU  greater 
happiness." 

"Then,  when  I  go  up,  I  shall  invite  Sarah  in  so 
cordial  a  manner  that  her  mother  wiU  see  that  I 
mean  every  word." 


GOOD  NEWS.  231 

"  Yes ;  for  tlie  unkindest  invitation  of  all  is  to  ask 
people  purely  out  of  compliment." 

The  smooth  brow  was  slightly  shadowed  again. 
"  Mamma,"  she  said,  in  a  low  tone,  "  can  people  — 
grown-up  ladies,  I  mean  —  get  along  without  sapng 
or  doing  things  that  they  really  do  not  mean  to  have 
taken  in  earnest  ? " 

"  They  had  better  not  say  them.  A  Christian 
woman  will  be  truthful  first  of  all ;  but  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  make  candor  a  cloak  for  the  indulgence  of 
unkind  or  heartless  remarks.  Eeligion,  it  seems  to 
me,  holds  the  essence  of  true  politeness,  —  to  do 
unto  others  as  you  would  have  them  do  unto  you." 

The  next  day  Kathie  was  quite  late  in  getting 
home,  having  stopped  at  the  Darrells'.  Uncle  Eob- 
ert  and  mamma  were  up  in  Aunt  Euth's  room. 

"  What  will  you  give  me  for  a  letter  with  a  grand 
seal  as  if  it  came  from  the  very  Commander-in-Chief 
or  the  President  ?  Look  !  To  '  Miss  Kathie  Alston.' 
"WTiat  correspondent  have  you  in  Washington,  we 
would  all  like  to  know  ? " 

Uncle  Eobert  held  the  letter  above  her  head.  A 
bold,  peculiar  handwriting  that  she  had  never  seen 
before.     Whose  could  it  be  ? 


232  KATIilE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know,"  coloring  -svitli  interest 
and  excitement.     "  I  have  a  gold  piece  in  my  purse." 

"  I  will  not  be  quite  so  mercenary  as  that.  You 
shall  tell  us  whom  it  is  from." 

Kathie  took  the  letter  and  broke  it  open  so  as  not 
to  destroy  the  seal,  saw  the  beginning,  —  "  ^ly  dear 
little  friend,"  —  ran  her  eye  over  the  two  pages  with- 
out taking  in  anything,  and  looked  at  the  signature. 

"0,"  with  a  cry  of. surprise,  "it  is  from  General 
Mackenzie !  "Wliy,"  —  and  then  she  began  to  read 
in  good  earnest,  — "  Mr.  Morrison  is  alive,  safe ! 
General  Mackenzie  found  him.     0  Uncle  Eobert ! " 

She  could  not  finish  the  rest,  but  buried  her  head 
on  Uncle  Eobert's  shoulder  to  have  a  good  little  cry 
out  of  pure  joy  and  thankfulness. 

"ShaU  I  read  it  aloud?" 

She  placed  the  letter  in  his  hand. 

"  My  dear  little  Friend,  —  I  dare  say  you  will  be 
surprised  at  recei\T.ng  a  letter  from  a  busy  old  soldier 
like  me,  but  I  met  with  an  incident  a  few  days  ago 
with  which  you  are  so  intimately  connected  that  I 
cannot  resist  the  good  excuse.  Of  course  all  the 
glorious  news  and  rejoicing  has  reached  you,  but  we 


GOOD   NEWS.  233 

here  on  the  spot  are  hearing  new  things  daily,  some 
joyful,  but  many  sad.  We  went  up  the  James  River 
one  morning  to  a  small  settlement  originally  negro 
quarters,  where  we  heard  a  number  of  wounded 
prisoners  had  been  taken.  We  found  thirty  poor 
fellows  in  all,  who  had  suffered  terribly  from  neglect, 
for  though  the  negroes  were  well-meaning  and  very 
warm-hearted,  they  were  miserably  poor  and  ignorant. 
Half  a  dozen  of  the  soldiers-  had  been  very  ill  from 
fevers,  and  upon  questioning  them  I  found  one  was 
—  whom  do  you  think  ?  —  your  uncle's  substitute,  a 
William  Morrison.  That  took  me  back  to  last  win- 
ter at  once,  and  to  my  little  friend,  so  do  not  wonder 
if  we  had  a  good  long  talk  about  you  and  the  beauti- 
ful Cedarwood  of  which  I  have  heard  so  much.  I 
believe  it  did  the  poor  fellow  a  world  of  good.  He 
was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner,  and  brought  up 
here  by  the  negroes,  as  far  as  I  can  learn.  In  those 
few  days  of  our  final  successes  the  small  events  were 
overlooked  in  tlue  glory  of  the  grander  ones.  His 
wound  was  not  very  severe,  but  fever  set  in,  and  for 
three  weeks  he  was  delirious.  About  ten  days  ago 
Jie  wrote  home,  but  he  was  not  sure  that  his  mes- 
senger was  reliable.     He  was  much  better,  and  we 


234  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

despatched  those  wlio  could  travel  to  head-quarters  at 
once.  I  fancy  that  he  avlU  be  mustered  out  as  soon 
as  possible.  If  his  friends  should  not  have  heard, 
will  you  please  inform  them  ?  He  holds  you  aU  in 
such  Tvarm  and  grateful  remembrance  that  it  was  de- 
lightful to  talk  to  him.  I  rejoice  with  you  that  he  is 
safe,  and  I  do  not  question  but  that  he  has  done  a 
soldier's  whole  duty.  I  thought  I  discerned  in  him 
the  spirit  of  another  little  soldier,  who  I  dare  say 
finds  some  battles  to  fight.  Give  my  regards  to  your 
family,  and  do  not  feel  surprised  when  I  tell  you  that 
you  may  expect  me  at  Cedarwood  some  day  before 
long. 

"Truly  yours, 

"  W.  IVlACKEXZIE,  U.  S.  A." 

"  It  hardly  seems  possible ! "  Kathie  said,  with  a 
sob.  "  But  they  have  not  heard,  and  they  will  be  so 
glad!" 

Uncle  Eobert  began  to  pace  the  room,  much  moved. 
Of  late  death  had  appeared  such  a  certainty,  and 
though  he  knew  the  life  had  been  freely  given  for 
his,  his  first  emotions  were  those  of  devout  gratitude 
to  God  that  this   sacrifice  had   not  been  required. 


GOOD  NEWS.  235 

Then  he  paused  before  Kathie.  "  My  little  darling," 
he  said,  "it  is  your  good  news.  And  though  the 
Morrisons  may  hear  it  in  a  day  or  two  from  other 
sources,  we  owe  it  to  them  immediately.  Will  you 
go?" 

Kathie  wanted  to  very  much,  but  0,  how  was  she 
ever  to  get  through  with  it !  Her  voice  seemed  to  be 
all  a  quiver  of  tears. 

"  Would  you  like  me  to  accompany  you  ? 

"  If  you  will." 

So  Kathie  bathed  her  face  and  tried  to  rub  the 
little  throbs  out  of  her  temples.  In  a  few  moments 
she  was  ready,  and  the  two  walked  down  the  avenue. 

"  There  cannot  be  any  mistake  ? "  she  exclaimed, 
pausing  at  the  door. 

"  0  no." 

Grandmother  was  holding  the  baby,  who  had  a 
slight  cold  and  fever.  Ethel  sat  at  the  window,  hem- 
ming some  breadths  of  ruffling.  She  sprang  up  and 
brought  out  chairs  for  them,  and  after  one  or  two  lit- 
tle inquiries  went  back  to  her  work.  Oddly  enough 
the  conversation  ceased  for  a  few  moments,  and  in 
the  silence  Kathie  fancied  that  she  heard  her  heart 
beat,  it  was  in  such  a  tumult. 


236  KAXniE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"I  believe  Katliie  has  some  news  for  you/'  an- 
nounced Mr.  Conover,  gravely. 

Kathie  rose  and  twined  her  arms  around  Ethel's 
neck 

'  " It  is  this,"  she  said,  all  in  a  tremble,  —  "I  cannot 
tell  it  as  I  ought,  but  your  dear  father  is  alive,  Ethel, 
and  is  coming  home  soon." 

"  ISTot  William  !  ]\Iiss  Kathie  !  "  and  grandmother 
almost  let  the  baby  fall. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Conover  ;  "  we  heard  to-day.  I 
have  brought  the  letter." 

"  The  Lord  be  praised  ! "  Then  grandmother  came 
over  to  Kathie,  but  she  and  Ethel  were  crying  softly 
in  each  other's  arms. 

"  Child,  are  you  one  of  God's  own  —  Heaven-sent  ? 
for  you  bring  us  joy  continually." 

"  But  it  was  sent  to  me,"  Kathie  said,  over  a  great 
break  and  falter.  "  If  I  could  have  made  it  so  in  the 
beginning,  —  but  I  could  n't,  and  God  kept  him 
safely.     We  all  waited  and  prayed." 

"  And  I  despaired !  I  am  worse  than  doubting 
Thomas !     Ah,  how  good  God  is  to  us  all ! " 

Mrs.  Morrison  entered  with  a  pail  of  milk  "  0," 
she  exclaimed,  "  you  have  had  news  !  Have  they 
found  his  body  ?  " 


GOOD  NEWS.  237 

"His  body  and  soul.  He  will  be  back  shortly. 
The  tidings  came  throngh  a  friend  of  Kathie." 

"  Dear  Ethel,  little  one,  it  is  blessed  news !  You 
would  never  have  wanted  for  love  and  kindness 
while  Hugh  and  I  were  alive ;  but  there  's  no  love 
quite  like  a  parent's.  How  Hugh  will  rejoice  !  He 
never  could  give  liim  up  altogether." 

"Mr.  Conover  has  a  letter  to  read,"  said  grand- 
mother. 

Little  did  General  Mackenzie  imagine  that  his 
words  would  bring  so  gTeat  a  joy.  They  all  listened 
breathlessly,  and  then  wanted  it  read  over  again  to 
lengthen  out  the  good  news.  And  when  at  dusk 
Uncle  Eobert  declared  they  must  go,  they  all  begged 
for  Katliie  to  stay  and  drink  tea,  and  would  take  no 
refusal. 

"  But  I  must  return,"  said  Uncle  Eobert,  "  or  the 
table  ^viU  be  kept  for  us  both." 

Mrs.  Morrison  made  some  biscuits,  and  brouo^ht 
out  her  china,  as  well  as  a  damask  table-cloth. 
Hugh,  coming  in,  wondered  at  the  feast;  but  Eth- 
el's first  word  told  him  all.  She,  poon  child,  was 
brimful  of  joy.  It  did  one  good  to  look  at  tlie  roses 
on  her  cheeks,  and  hear  the  little  lauglis  that  came 
for  joy,  and  y^t  wore  so  near  to  tears. 


238  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

When  Katliie  reached  home  she  was  absolutely 
tired  with  all  the  excitement,  and  mamma  said  there 
must  be  no  lessons  that  night;  so  they  took  the 
lounge  in  the  shaded  half-light  of  the  library,  and 
Kathie  laid  her  head  in  Uncle  Eobert's  lap,  for  it 
almost  ached.     And  there  they  had  a  tender  talk. 

"  But  we  shall  never  forget  it,"  she  said.  "  It 
seems  as  if  it  would  help  me  to  remember  all  the 
pains  and  sorrows  and  burdens  that  we  can  try  to 
bear  for  one  another." 

"It  is  what  God  means  us  to  learn  and  to  do. 
'  For  no  man  liveth  unto  himseK,  and  no  man  dieth 
unto  himself.' " 

"And  we  are  all  so  oddly  linked  in  with  one 
another,  —  such  a  little  thing  brought  the  Morrisons 
here,  and  then  my  meeting  General  Mackenzie  gave 
him  an  interest.  The  news  would  have  come  in  a 
*day  or  two,  I  suppose ;  but.  Uncle  Eobert,  it  seemed 
so  good,  since  he  risked  his  life  in  your  place,  that 
we  should  be  the  first  to  take  the  joyful  tidings 
to  them.  I  have  n't  anything  in  the  world  to 
ask." 

"  Yes,  my  darling,  I  am  so  glad  that  General  Mac- 
kenzie did  find  him  :  and  more  than  ^lad  that  our 


GOOD  NEWS.  239 

brave  soldiers  can  return  to  their  own  pleasant  fire- 
sides." 

"  Neither  of  our  soldiers  was  YQTy  grand  in  the 
world's  e^imation,  that  is,  as  to  position,  but  they 
have  both  suffered  a  good  deal  for  the  cause.  It  is  so 
sweet  to  think  that,  though  the  world  knows  nothing 
about  it,  God  remembers." 

"And  that  no  act  of  self-denial  or  heroism  goes 
without  its  reward  there.  It  is  hard  sometimes  to 
see  it  passed  so  unnoticed  in  this  world,  but  I  sup- 
pose that  is  where  patience  needs  to  have  her  perfect 
work." 

Kathie  wrote  a  little  note  to  Eob  the  next  morn- 
ing, beside  getting  her  lessons ;  and  before  the  day 
ended  they  had  a  letter  from  Mr.  Morrison  himself, 
announcing  that  he  was  to  be  sent  home  on  a  fur- 
lough. 

"I  shall  have  a  dangerous  rival,"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Meredith,  in  his  teasing  tone, ;  "  and  when  General 
Mackenzie  comes  I  expect  to  be  quite  overshadowed 
No  stars  nor  bars  nor  shoulder-straps,  —  nothing  but 
a  poor  unknown  private  !     What  good  could  he  do  ? " 

"  He  followed  his  captain  and  did  his  duty." 

"  Good  !  "  exclaimed  Charlie,  wlio  was  standing  be- 


240  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

side  his  brother-in-law.  "  You  will  never  find  Kathie 
being  caught  by  the  glitter  and  show." 

The  old  smile  twinkled  in  Mr.  Meredith's  eyes. 

"Well,  I  will  promise  not  to  be  very jealo\js.  Only 
you  know  you  sent  me  off  to  war,  so  you  ought  to 
allow  me  some  special  indulgence." 

"  I ! "  exclaimed  Kathie,  coloring  violently. 

"  Yes,  you  cannot  disowTi  me ;  I  am  one  of  your 
soldiers.  Dear  little  Kathie,  I  hope  always  to  be 
true  to  my  colors." 

The  last  was  uttered  in  a  low  tone,  but  it  brought 
a  more  vivid  flush  than  the  preceding  sentence. 
Though  now  her  eyes  were  downcast,  yet  in  her 
heart  of  hearts  she  understood. 

"  It  seems  as  if  Eob  ought  to  come  home  in  the 
■general  returning.  How  glad  I  shall  be  to  see  the 
dear  old  fellow ! " 

Was  Eob  fighting  the  good  fight  ? 


PUT   TO   THE   TEST.  241 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

PUT  TO  THE  TEST. 

The  days  were  so  long  and  pleasant  now  that 
Uncle  Eobert  thought  they  would  not  start  for 
Middleville  until  after  dinner,  especially  as  there 
would  be  a  bright  moon  in  the  evening.  Katliie  had 
written  a  little  note  to  Sarah,  and  now  the  two 
started  in  high  satisfaction.  For  since  the  good  news 
about  Mr.  Morrison  Kathie  seemed  full  of  happiness 
and  content. 

The  place  looked  less  dreary  than  in  winter,  though 
the  houses  appeared  rather  more  shabby  by  contrast. 
One  or  two  were  being  painted,  which  would  shame 
the  rest  sadly.  But  the  hillsides  were  taking  on  an 
emerald  tint,  and  groups  of  cows  were  wandering 
about  as  if  patiently  waiting  for  the  grass  to  grow 
into  nibbling  length. 

Sarah  was  standing  by  the  gate,  watching  for  them. 
A  very  decided  change  had  come  over  her.  She  was 
taller  and  looked  less  stout,  her  complexion  was  not 

16 


242  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

SO  rough  and  red,  her  dress,  a  striped  green  and  white 
gingham,  fitted  nicely,  and  was  finished  at  the  throat 
by  a  linen  collar.  She  had  eschewed  waterfalls  and 
rolls,  though  she  laugliingly  admitted  to  Kathie  after- 
wards that  it  was  because  she  could  n't  get  her  hair 
up  to  look  like  anything.  But  the  great  tliick  coil 
was  really  beautiful,  and  the  green  ribbon  very  be- 
coming. 

She  had  changed  somewhat  in  manners  as  well, 
being  less  boisterous  and  effusive.  Indeed,  Kathie 
thought  her  very  lady-like  as  she  ushered  them  into 
the  house. 

"  Is  your  brother  anywhere  about  ? "  asked  Uncle 
Eobert.  "  If  so,  I  wiU  go  and  find  him  while  you 
girls  have  a  talk." 

"  He  is  up  in  the  lot.  Steve  will  show  you,  or,  bet- 
ter yet,  call  him." 

Then  she  led  Kathie  into  the  parlor.  There  were 
green  paper  shades  at  the  ^vindows,  which  softened 
the  light  in  the  room,  and  Katliie's  first  glance  took 
in  a  world  of  improvements. 

Sarah  colored  with  a  little  conscious  pride  as  she 
led  her  to  a  veritable  modem  sofa,  instead  of  the  old 
stiff  one,  worn  at  the  edges. 


PUT   TO   THE   TEST.  243 

"Take  off  your  hat  and  sack,"  she  said,  with  a 
touch  of  bashfulness. 

Kathie  complied. 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you.  I  have  such  a  host  of 
things  to  tell  you." 

"  And  you  have  been  out  gathering  violets.  How 
pretty  and  spring-like  they  are  ! " 

"Yes,  Jim  helped  me.  We  thought  you  wotdd 
like  them  so  much.  And  I  have  been  trying  to  — 
to  get  fixed  up  a  little.  It  cannot  be  anything  like 
your  house,  but  somehow  I  want  it  as  nice  as  I  can 
make  it.  Jim  is  so  good  too,  and  Cousin  Nelly; 
and  I  am  so  happy  sometimes  that  I  really  wonder 
if  I  be  I,  like  the  old  woman." 

"  I  am  very  glad "  ;  and  Kathie  gave  the  hand  a 
squeeze  in  her  own  tender  little  fashion. 

"  I  want  to  tell  you  all  before  any  one  comes  in. 
Is  n't  it  delightful  to  have  this  sofa  ?  I  made  father 
half  a  dozen  shirts  all  by  myself,  and  he  was  so 
pleased,  —  you  can  hardly  think !  He  gave  me 
twelve  dollars  to  spend  just  as  I  pleased ;  but  I  told 
mother  I  would  rather  let  it  go  towards  a  new  sofa 
than  to  buy  the  finest  dress.  Nelly  said  it  would  be 
so  much  more  comfortable  than  that  hard,  shabby 


244  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

thing,  that  looked  as  if  it  might  have  come  out  of 
l^oah's  Ark.  So  mother  gave  me  fifteen,  —  she  has 
all  the  money  for  the  milk  and  butter  and  eggs,  — 
and  when  father  heard  of  it  he  added  three  more.  I 
was  afraid  he  would  think  I  wanted  to  be  too  fine, 
but  he  only  laughed  a  little.  Mother  and  Nelly 
went  to  the  city  and  bought  it.  I  was  so  glad  that  I 
could  have  cried  for  joy,  and  I  know  father  is  very 
proud  of  it,  though  he  does  not  say  it  in  so  many 
words." 

"  It  is  a  very  nice  one,  and  furnishes  the  room 
quite  prettily,  beside  the  comfort  of  it." 

"  Jim  made  me  this  table,  and  Cousin  Nelly  and  I 
covered  it  with  paper  and  then  varnished  it  over, 
and  we  have  a  pretty  chintz  one  up  stairs.  Nelly 
and  I  have  a  room  together  now.  I  can  keep  every- 
thing so  much  more  tidy  than  when  the  children 
pulled  all  the  rubbish  about.  And  look  at  my  two 
new  pictures ! " 

They  were  large  colored  engra\ings,  —  one,  "  The 
Wood-Gatherers,"  and  the  other  the  interior  of  a 
German  peasant's  cottage,  where  the  mother  was 
putting  a  babe  to  sleep  in  its  odd  wicker  cradle. 

"  Jim  bought  them  at  a  newspaper-stand  one  day, 


PUT   TO   THE   TEST.  245 

and  only  paid  twelve  cents  apiece  for  them.  He  's 
powerful  — no,  I  mean  very  fond  of  them.  I  am 
trying  to  leave  off  aU  those  old-fashioned  words  and 
expressions.  Then  he  made  the  frames,  and  Nelly 
and  I  covered  them  with  pine-cones." 
They  certainly  w^ere  very  creditable. 
"But  how  industrious  you  must  be!"  exclaimed 
Kathie.     "  You  still  go  to  school  ? " 

"  Yes.  I  would  n't  give  that  up  for  half  the  world. 
You  see  Cousin  [NTelly  helps  mother  a  good  deal,  and 
she  helps  me  too.  I  have  been  telling  her  ever  so 
much  about  you,  how  good  and  lovely  you  were. 
But  0,  w^as  n't  I  a  clown  and  an  ignoramus  when 
you  first  saw  me  !  I  don't  wonder  that  girl  laughed, 
though  it  was  hateful  in  her;  but  I  shall  never,  never 
forget  how  kind  you  were.  0  ]VIiss  Kathie,  it  seems 
to  me  if  the  real  nice  people  in  the  world  would 
only  help  the  others  a  bit,  we  should  get  along  so 
much  faster.  I  feel  as  if  I  'd  had  it  in  me  all  the 
time, —  a  great  hungry  longing  for  sometliing, — 
and  I  find  now  that  it  is  beauty  and  order  and 
knowledge." 

Sarah's  face  was  in  a  glow,  and  her  steady,  ardent 
eyes  held  in  them  a  soft  and  tender  light.    It  seemed 


246  KATHIFS   SOLDIERS. 

to  Katliie  that  she  was  really  pretty,  or  something 
more  than  that,  —  electrified  with  soul  beauty. 

"  Father  pretends  that  he  is  afraid  I  shall  get  too 
proud  and  not  be  good  for  anything,  though  he  was 
ever  so  much  pleased  when  he  saw  the  parlor  in  such 
nice  order.  And  he  thought  the  shirts  a  wonder.  I 
shall  not  be  sixteen  until  November,  and  there  are 
girls  older  than  I  who  could  not  do  it.  In  vacation  I 
am  going  to  make  Jim  a  whole  new  set  of  nice  ones 
with  linen  bosoms." 

It  seemed  to  Kathie  that  there  was  very  little  dan- 
ger of  Sarah's  being  spoiled  by  acquiring  knowledge. 

"  You  deserve  the  utmost  credit,"  she  returned,  in 
her  simple  manner,  that  had  in  it  no  shade  of  patron- 
age or  condescension. 

"  I  ought  to  do  something  for  the  pains  and  trouble 
you  have  taken." 

"  It  is  a  pleasure  too." 

"  IViiss  Kathie,  you  are  so  different  from  some  rich 
people.     I  wonder  what  makes  it  ? " 

A  soft  color  stole  up  into  her  face.  She  would 
fain  have  kept  silence,  but  she  saw  that  Sarah  was 
waiting  for  an  answer.  "  I  think  it  is  because  mam- 
ma and  Uncle  Kobert  believe  that  wealth  was  not 


PUT   TO   THE   TEST.  247 

given  for  purely  personal  or  selfish  purposes.  It  is 
God's  treasure,  and  we  are  to  put  it  out  at  usury,  like 
the  parable  of  the  talents,  and  the  usury  means  mak- 
ing other  people  happy  if  we  can." 

"  Then  I  suppose  I  ought  to  try  and  make  some 
one  happy  ?  " 

"  Do  you  not  ? "  asked  Kathie,  simply. 

"  Yes,  I  do  occasionally  when  it  is  quite  a  trouble. 
The  children  beg  me  to  read  to  them,  —  they  are 
so  fond  of  stories ;  and  now  father  always  wants  me 
to  read  our  paper  to  him.  It  comes  on  Saturday  and 
he  is  always  so  tired  that  night.  Sti]',  that  is  n't  — " 
and  Sarah  paused  as  if  she  despaired  of  rendering  her 
meaning  clear  to  her  young  listener, 

"  I  think  Uncle  Robert  would  say  that  is  it  surely. 
Once  in  a  while  we  can  do  larger  things  ;  but  is  n't 
it  the  little  deeds  that  require  the  most  patience  ?  It 
is  the  stips  that  make  up  the  whole  path." 

"  So  it  is.  I  never  thought  of  it  before  "  ;  and  she 
smiled,  relieved.  "  You  believe.  Miss  Kathie,  that 
what  we  do  at  home  is  just  as  good  in  God's  eyes  as 
if  we  did  it  for  a  stranger  ?  It  almost  seemed  to  me 
as  if  I  ought  to  go  out  and  look  for  some  poor  igno' 
rant  person  instead." 


248  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

"  Both  are  doing  good  in  different  ways.  Maylxi  it 
is  best  to  learn  to  do  the  good  at  home  first " ;  and 
Kathie  remembered  her  early  efforts  in  assisting  her 
mother. 

"I  want  father  to  see  that  all  my  knowledge  and 
my  queer  likes,  as  he  calls  them,  will  not  really  spoO. 
me.  Grandmother  Strong  has  just  such  old-fash- 
ioned notions.  She  thinks  my  going  to  school  per- 
fectly absurd.  But  Cousin  Ellen  says  the  world  has 
changed  a  good  deal  since  grandmother  was  young." 

"And  I  have  brought  your  books,"  said  Kathie, 
when  there  was  a  pause  of  sufficient  length.  "  The 
three  are  half  of  a  pretty  set ;  some  time  you  may 
like  to  get  the  others." 

"  You  are  so  kind.  I  hated  to  bother  you,  but  I 
knew  you  could  make  the  best  choice." 

*'  It  was  no  trouble  at  all,  —  Uncle  Eobert  did  it, 
and  he  bought  them  for  half  a  dollar  less  than  their 
usual  price." 

"  I  am  so  much  obliged  ! "  and  Sarah's  face  was  in 
a  grateful  glow. 

Kathie  had  wanted  very  much  to  supply  the  other 
three. 

"If  Sarah  were  poor,"  replied  Uncle   Eobert,  "I 


PUT   TO   THE  TEST.  249 

should  not  object ;  but  when  such  a  person  asks  you 
to  do  a  favor,  it  is  best  to  keep  simply  to  the  letter 
of  the  request.  If  you  gave  her  so  much  more,  she 
would  hesitate  about  asking  you  to  do  such  a  thing  a 
Second  time,  that  is,  if  she  possessed  any  real  delicacy." 

Kathie  saw  the  force  of  the  reasoning. 

Presently  Cousin  Ellen  came  down.  She  was  a 
neat,  commonplace-looking  woman  of  about  thirty, 
but  with  a  good  deal  of  shrewd  sense  in  her  dark 
gray  eyes.  Her  black  calico  dress  was  the  perfection 
of  tidiness,  and  the  merest  little  ruJGP  of  book-muslin 
edged  it  round  the  neck. 

Kathie  Liked  her  very  much.  She  had  been  in  the 
midst  of  the  war  operations  for  the  last  three  years, 
and  to  please  Sarah  she  related  numberless  incidents 
that  interested  Kathie  exceedingly.  Then  she  had 
to  go  up  stairs  and  see  their  room,  take  a  tour  around, 
and  have  all  the  flower-beds  explained  to  her,  to  go 
to  the  barn  and  inspect  several  new  articles  Jim  was 
making.  Uncle  Eobert  and  the  boys  joined  them 
here,  and  Kathie  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Strong. 

"Don't  you  have  a  little  too  much  in-doors  and 
study  ? "  he  asked,  pleasantly.  "  I  should  n't  like  to 
see  one  of  my  gals  look  as  white  as  you  do." 


250  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"  0,  she  is  always  white,  father,"  said  Sarah,  ad- 
miringly. 

"  And  she  has  plenty  of  roses  too,  for  the  most 
part,"  explained  Uncle  Eobert,  "  only  for  the  last  few 
weeks  she  has  been  rather  overtaxed,  I  think.  W5 
have  had  a  returned  soldier,  a  very  dear  friend,  ill, 
and  been  in  great  anxiety  about  another." 

"  Thank  the  Lord  for  all  w^ho  've  come  home  safe," 
said  Mr.  Strong,  in  his  clear,  forcible  tone,  and  every 
one  of  them  felt  like  adding  an  "  Amen  "  to  it. 

Martha  ran  out  to  caU  them  to  tea. 

There  was  the  great  table  spread,  and  all  the  chil- 
dren around  it,  even  to  fatherless  Willie,  who  would 
never  need  a  friend  while  Jotham  Strong  lived. 

It  was  a  very  enjoyable  supper.  The  new  in- 
fluence was  perceptible  even  in  sturdy  Mrs.  Strong, 
who  took  a  little  pains  that  she  might  not  shame 
Sarah  before  her  company. 

Kathie  asked  Mrs.  Strong  to  let  Sarah  come  down 
some  Saturday  and  make  her  a  visit. 

"  I  can't  exactly  explain,  Miss  Kathie,  and  I  hate 
to  be  ungrateful  for  your  kindness,  but  I  feel  as  if 
you  and  your  friends  were  above  Sarah.  Folks  ain't 
all  alike,  and  I  s'pose  the  Lord  did  n't  mean  'em  to 


PUT   TO   THE   TEST.  251 

be,  but  I  don't  want  Sarah  laughed  at,  and  I  don't 
want  any  one  to  think  she  's  trying  to  crowd  in 
We  're  plain,  old-fashioned  people  "  — 

!Mrs.  Strong  paused,  very  red  in  the  face. 

"  No  one  will  think  that  at  Cedarwood,"  answered 
Kathie,  softly. 

So  presently  the  promise  was  given.  In  a  fort- 
night Cousin  Ellen  and  Sarah  were  to  go  down  to 
Brookside  to  do  some  shopping.  Ellen  wanted  to 
call  on  several  of  the  relatives,  but  Sarah  might  go 
at  once  to  Cedarwood. 

"  I  expect  it  will  be  like  a  little  bit  of  heaven,"  the 
girl  whispered.  "  I  never  was  in  a  real  elegant  house 
in  all  my  life." 

Kathie  described  her  visit  to  Aunt  Euth  in  glow- 
ing terms.  "  I  think  it  is  delightful  to  be  rich,  after 
all,"  she  said,  contentedly.  "  You  can  make  so  many 
people  happy." 

"  And  while  you  study  the  happiness  of  others  and 
your  duty  towards  them  the  riches  will  hardly  prove 
a  snare,"  returned  Aunt  Euth. 

Before  another  week  had  ended  they  had  a  new 
joy  for  which  to  be  very  thankful,  —  the  return  of 
Mr.  Morrison.     He  still  looked  a  little  pale  and  thin. 


252  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

but  had  improved  wonderfully  since  the  day  when 
General  Mackenzie  found  him  in  the  forlorn  negro 
quarters.  Glad  enough  he  was  to  get  home  to  his 
little  Ethel,  who  hardly  let  him  go  out  of  her  sight. 
Nothing  would  do  but  that  the  whole  family  must 
•come  down  to  the  cottage  and  drink  tea. 

"  I  must  express  my  obligations  once  more  to 
you,"  said  Uncle  Eobert,  in  the  evening ;  "  and  I 
am  most  grateful  to  God  for  your  return,  and  that 
he  did  not  require  so  costly  a  sacrifice  at  my  hands." 

"He  knows  that  I  am  glad  enough  to  come  back; 
but  if  you  '11  believe  me,  sir,  it  was  a  great  comfort, 
when  I  thought  myself  dying,  that  it  was  in  your 
stead,  and  that  your  life,  so  much  more  valuable  than 
^  mine,  had  been  spared.  I  believe  you  would  have 
sorrowed  for  me  truly,  —  and  Miss  Kathie  here, — 
as  well  as  my  own." 

Kathie  took  liis  hand.  "  I  Ve  been  thinking  of 
this  ever  since  the  night  you  offered  to  go :  '  Greater 
love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friends.'  " 

The  sweet  voice  trembled  a  little.  It  would  al- 
ways have  a  tender  strand  in  it  when  it  came  to  that 
verse. 


PUT   TO   THE  TEST.  253 

"Ah,  j\Iiss  Kathie,  those  precious  words  were  for 
the  Saviour  of  us  all.  What  can  we  ever  do  to  merit 
them  ? "  and  the  soldier  drew  the  back  of  his  hand 
across  his  eyes. 

"  God  gives  the  grace  to  weak  human  nature," 
Uncle  Eobert  said,  with  solemn  sweetness. 

Walking  home,  Kathie  started  from  her  revery. 
"  Now  if  Eob  could  only  come  back,"  she  exclaimed, 
"  our  soldiers  would  all  be  together.  You  remember 
the  day  he  was  so  elated  about  the  draft  ? " 

"  Yes.  Dear  Eob  !  I  hope  he  has  done  good  ser- 
vice.    I  am  very  anxious  to  see  him  again." 

Then  Kathie  began  to  count  on  the  promised  visit. 
"  It  is  not  because  I  am  so  proud  of  Cedarwood,  or 
the  handsome  things  in  it,"  she  explained  to  Uncle 
Eobert,  "  though  I  do  think  them  all  very  lovely ; 
but  it  will  be  such  a  pleasure  to  her,  —  just  as  my 
going  to  Miss  Jessie's  when  we  were  so  poor." 

"  I  understand  " ;  and  he  smiled. 

There  had  been  quite  a  discussion  about  having 
a  second  girl.  Uncle  Eobert  fancied  that  Kathie's 
further  knowledge  of  household  details  had  better 
be  postponed  until  she  had  less  upon  her  hands. 
Jane  Maybin,  who  had  been  a  good   deal   out   of 


254  KATHTE'S   SOLDIERS. 

healtli  lately,  and  unable  to  work  in  the  factory,  as 
the  dust  irritated  her  lungs  and  made  her  cough,  was 
quite  anxious  to  take  the  situation.  "What  with 
company  and  increasing  social  duties,  Mrs.  Alston 
found  her  time  much  interrupted. 

Hannah  did  all  the  sweeping  on  Friday,  but  it  was 
a  heavy  tax  ;  so  Kathie  only  dusted  awhile  on  Satur- 
day morning,  cut  fresh  flowers  and  arranged  them, 
and  busied  herself  about  little  odds  and  ends.  Mrs. 
Alston  decided  to  have  Jane,  and  Aunt  Euth  took  a 
walk  over  to  the  cottage. 

Kathie  waited  in  a  peculiar  state  of  anxiety.  Lucy 
and  Annie  Gardiner  had  proposed  to  come  over  that 
very  afternoon,  but  she  preferred  to  have  Sarah  quite 
alone,  that  she  might  feel  free  to  enjoy  ever}i;hing. 

It  was  almost  twelve  when  she  reached  Cedar- 
wood.  Kathie  was  haunting  the  cettage,  where  she 
could  have  a  good  look  down  the  street,  but  she 
hardly  recognized  the  figure  at  first.  It  seemed  as 
if  Sarah  grew  every  week.  She  looked  quite  like  a 
young  lady,  Kathie  thought.  Her  light  gray  dress 
was  trimmed  with  several  rows  of  blue  ribbon,  and 
the  sack,  matching  it,  made  a  very  neat  suit.  Her 
white  straw  hat  was  trimmed  with  blue,  and  a  clus- 


PUT  TO  THE  TEST.  255 

ter  of  crisp,  fresh  flowers,  that  looked  almost  good 
enough  to  he  natural.  There  was  nothing  in  that 
outfit  to  he  ashamed  of. 

"  O,"  she  exclaimed,  -^Wth  a  long  hreath,  "  it 's  like 
going  into  the  Garden  of  Eden !  The  house  and  the 
trees,  and  that  lovely  lake  !  I  should  want  to  be  out 
of  doors  forever." 

"  Uncle  Eohert  has  promised  to  row  us  around  the 
lake  this  afternoon.  A  month  later  it  will  be  much 
more  beautiful.     Did  you  finish  your  shopping  ? " 

"  0  yes,  though  we  were  bothered  a  good  deal,  and 
that  made  me  later.  Nelly  wanted  me  to  go  to  din- 
ner at  Cousin  Eachel's." 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  did  not." 

Sarah  could  not  be  hurried  into  the  house.  She 
wanted  to  view  the  fountain,  the  groups  of  ever- 
greens, the  broad  porch,  and  fancy  just  how  the 
roses  and  honeysuckle  would  look.  But  presently 
they  entered.  Kathie  led  her  up  stairs  to  her  room, 
to  lay  aside  her  hat. 

"  0,  I  don't  wonder  Jim  said  it  was  a  palace  ! " 
she  exclaimed,  with  breathless  delight.  "AVhat  a 
lovely  room  !  Why,  it 's  pretty  enough  for  any  one's 
parlor ! " 


256  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

Katliie  smiled  a  little,  remembering  the  day  on 
wHch  she  had  thought  it  wonderful  as  well 

Sarah  was  hardly  satisfied  with  her  inspection 
when  the  bell  rang  for  dinner.  In  the  hall  they  met 
Aunt  Euth,  and  in  the  dining-room  Kathie  intro- 
duced Sarah  to  her  mother. 

A  girl  with  less  natural  adaptation  or  ambition 
might  have  been  very  awkward.  But  Sarah  had 
watched  Kathie  to  some  purpose,  and  now  gave  her- 
self courage  with  the  thought  that  she  could  not  go 
far  astray  if  she  copied  Kathie.  To  be  sure  she 
blushed  and  hesitated  a  little,  and,  as  she  afterward 
confessed  at  home,  "  trembled  all  over  "  ;  but  she  did 
acquit  herself  very  creditably. 

"I  can  scarcely  realize  that  it  is  the  same  girl 
who  ^vrote  you  the  Christmas  letter,"  whispered  Mrs. 
Alston  in  a  soft  aside,  and  Kathie  smiled  gratefully 
at  her  mother's  commendation. 

Then  the  two  girls  began  a  regular  tour  about  the 
house.  The  pictures,  the  statues,  the  furniture.  Aunt 
Euth's  beautiful  bay-window  still  full  of  vines  and 
flowers,  and  the  abundance  of  books,  were  so  many 
marvels  to  Sarah.  And  here,  in  the  midst  of  all 
this  beauty,  hung  her  lichen.     The  tears  of  delight 


PUT  TO  THE  TEST.  257 

came  to  her  eyes,  in  spite  of  her  strong  effort  at  re- 
pression. 

"  Now  if  you  would  only  play  and  sing  for  me/* 
she  pleaded,  bashfully.  "  You  're  so  good  that  I  hate 
to  ask  anything." 

"  With  pleasure." 

It  seemed  as  if  Sarah  could  never  get  enouorh 
music.  She  listened  as  if  she  was  entranced,  the 
new  spiritual  light  coming  into  her  eyes,  showing 
the  strong  and  earnest  capabilities  of  her  soul. 

Uncle  Kobert  looked  in  upon  them. 

"  I  think  you  had  better  go  out  on  the  lake  now," 
he  said.     "  The  air  is  so  delightfully  soft." 

Sarah  sighed.  "I  cannot  imagine  which  is  the 
best,  everything  is  such  a  pleasure." 

"  We  will  have  some  music  when  we  return.  You 
will  like  the  sail,  I  know." 

They  found  their  hats  and  ran  down  the  broad 
steps.  Quite  a  party  were  coming  up  the  drive. 
Charlie  and  Dick,  jVIr.  and  Mrs.  Meredith,  and  O, 
joy !  this  tall,  soldierly  man  could  be  no  other  than 
General  Mackenzie ! 

"  My  dear,  dear  young  friend " ;  and,  stooping,  he 
kissed  the  forehead  in  his  grave,  tender  fashion. 
17 


258  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

"So  you  see  I  have  surprised  you  this  time," 
laughed  IVIr.  Meredith.  "Where  were  you  going 
gypsy  fashion  ? " 

"  To  the  lake,  but  it  does  n't  matter."  There  was 
no  Uncle  Eobert  to  help  her,  so  she  turned  to  where 
Sarah  stood  blushing  and  abashed,  drew  her  kindly 
forward,  and  gave  her  an  introduction  to  each  one. 
Dick  connected  her  with  the  party  and  BeUe  Hadden 
at  once. 

"  Kathie  was  right  to  stand  up  for  her,"  was  his 
mental  verdict.  "  There  are  plenty  of  worse-looking 
and  worse-behaved  girls  in  the  world." 

At  this  junction  Uncle  Eobert  joined  them.  The 
whole  party  entered  the  parlor.  Kathie  seated  Sarah 
by  herself,  and  General  Mackenzie  joined  them. 
Mrs.  Alston  and  Aunt  Euth  were  summoned,  and  the 
conversation  became  most  genial  And  when  Sarah 
ventured  a  remark,  frightened  half  to  death  the 
moment  afterward.  General  Mackenzie  smiled  and 
answered  her.  Dick  Grayson,  anxious  to  see  "  what 
kind  of  stuff  she  was  made  of,"  came  round  to  the 
back  of  the  Ute-a-tete,  and  joined  the  talk. 

•  But  the  wonders  had  not  all  come  to  an  end.  The 
door-bell  sounded  again,  and  Hannah  ushered  two 


PUT   TO   TUE   TEST.  259 

young  ladies  into  the  licalL  Katliie  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  faces,  —  Sue  Coleman  and  Emma  Lauriston. 

They  saw  Dick  and  Charlie  and  the  grand  soldier 
beside  this  plain-looking  girl,  —  some  of  the  Darrells, 
maybe,  —  and,  accepting  Kathie's  cordial  invitation, 
joined  the  group. 

"  Miss  Strong,"  Kathie  said,  with  sweet,  gracious 
simplicity;  and  Sue  for  a  moment  was  abashed. 
Something  in  Dick's  face  announced  the  truth. 

General  Mackenzie  did  not  seem  to  think  her 
beneath  him.  Just  now  she  was  speaking  of  her 
cousin's  husband  and  their  having  Mrs.  Gilbert  and 
Willie  at  home.* 

"Miss  Strong,"  he  said,  gravely,  "I  honor  your 
parents  for  the  act.  There  will  be  so  many  widows 
and  orphans  for  whom  the  scanty  pension  will  be  as 
nothing.  But  the  generous-hearted  men  and  women 
who  open  their  houses  to  these  poor  unfortunates 
pay  our  dead  soldiers  a  higher  compliment,  and 
evince  a  truer  appreciation  of  their  gallant  heroism, 
than  if  they  made  grand  processions  and  built  marble 
monuments." 

Sarah  blushed  with  embarrassment,  and  some  deep, 
delicate  feeling  that  she  coidd  not  have  expressed. 


260  KATHIE'S   SOLDIERS. 

She  had  not  done  it  boastingly ;  indeed,  until  this 
moment,  she  had  hardly  thought  of  any  special  kind- 
liness in  the  deed. 

Actually  complimented  by  General  Mackenzie ! 
Lottie  Thorne  would  have  died  of  envy. 

Somehow  the  time  ran  away  very  fast.  They 
went  out  on  the  la^vn  in  the  sunshine,  when  Sue 
and  Emma  discovered  that  they  must  go,  and  the 
two  boys  walked  with  them.  Then  it  came  Sarah's 
turn,  as  she  had  promised  to  be  at  Cousin  Eachel's  by 
five. 

"  I  've  had  such  a  lovely,  lovely  time.  Miss  Kathie, 
though  I  felt  dreadfully  frightened  when  your  grand 
company  came ;  but  they  were  all  so  —  so  nice  that  I 
quite  forgot  about  being  an  awkward  country  girl. 
And  is  n't  General  Mackenzie  plain  and  charming  ? 
—  yes,  that  is  the  very  word.  I  don't  believe  Gen- 
eral Grant  is  a  bit  nicer.  I  shall  tell  mother  just 
what  he  said.  It  will  help  to  make  up  for  the  girls 
laughing  about  her  bonnet." 

Kathie  had  a  simple  gift  to  send  to  Baby  Lily. 
Then  the  girls  said  a  lingering  good-by  to  each  other, 
and  Kathie  went  back  to  her  hero. 

"  I  must  take  the  night  return  train,"  he  declared, 


PUT  TO  THE   TEST.  2Gl 

"on  account  of  important  business  in  Washington; 
but  if  you  will  allow  me  to  visit  you  in  the  summer, 
and  bring  my  son,  I  will  accept  it  as  a  great  favor." 

Uncle  Robert  gave  him  a  most  cordial  invitation. 

"And,  my  little  friend,  I  must  congratulate  you 
that  your  soldiers  did  their  duty  without  flinching, 
even  in  the  most  trying  moments.  It  is  not  our  lives 
only,  but  our  wiUs,  our  comforts  and  pleasures,  that 
we  are  required  to  give  up.  And  I  am  thankful  that 
God  watched  over  them  every  hour,  and  sent  them 
back  safely  at  last." 

"I  think  they  were  braver  than  I,  sometimes," 
Kathie  answered,  in  a  low  tone.  "  After  all,  I  have 
done  so  little;  I  do  not  deserve  the  praise."  Her 
voice  seemed  to  lose  itself  in  a  tender  humility. 

"  My  dear  child,  I  know  what  you  thought  of  the 
other  warfare.  It  is  a  soldier's  duty  to  bring  in  aU 
the  recruits  that  he  can.  God  will  clothe  them  in 
his  righteousness,  and  make  the  path  plain  before 
them  as  they  go  to  do  battle  with  the  arch-enemy. 
He  only  asks  us  to  lead  them  to  him.  You  are  do- 
ing this  in  a  brave,  steady  manner." 

There  were  tears  in  Kathie's  downcast  eyes;  but 
Mr.   Meredith's  hand   stole  over   her  shoulder,  and 


262  KATHIE'S  SOLDIERS. 

tlieir  fingers  met  with  a  clasp  that  was  more  ex- 
pressive than  words. 

"  People  often  look  too  far  off  for  duties,"  continued 
the  old  soldier.  "We  are  to  take  up  the  task  that 
lies  before  us,  even  if  it  does  not  seem  to  wear  the 
grace  of  the  heroic.  God  knows  when  and  where  to 
add  the  golden  fruit.  Some  day,  my  little  girl,  we 
will  have  a  long  talk  about  these  matters." 

The  soft  spring-twilight  was  falling  as  they  said 
good-by  to  General  ^lackenzie.  The  grave,  kindly 
eyes  rested  last  of  all  on  the  child's  simple,  earnest 
face. 

Mr.  and  !Mrs.  Meredith  went  also  when  Uncle 
Eobert  drove  the  General  to  the  station.  Kathie  sat 
by  the  window,  peering  out  into  the  darkness,  long 
after  the  sound  of  the  wheels  had  ceased.  One  star 
came  out  presently. 

Shining  on  and  on.  The  old,  old  lesson,  the  child's 
purpose  growing  stronger  with  the  passing  years,  and 
Kathie  prayed  that  as  her  soldiers  had  been  faithful, 
she  also  might  be  faithful  unto  the  end. 


Cambridge :  Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co. 


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COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

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Wilmer 
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